The Phantom of Time
by NightDreamer92
Summary: Toki always tried her best to live her life, even if she only remembers the past year of it, while the rest is a giant shadow. But when Ichigo and Rukia come into the picture, will her past prove to be too great? "My life has been one lie after the other...I'm me, yet I'm not. I exist and yet I'm not living. How can you expect me to simply let it go?"
1. The War That Started It All

** Hello everyone! Well this will be my first story on here and yes, this is a crossover between Bleach and Ouran. But I just want to warn everyone that the crossover won't happen until much later. But with that said, please enjoy and tell me what you think. ^^**_  
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_Fallen angels at my feet_

_Whispered voices at my ear_

_Death before my eyes_

_Lying next to me I fear_

_She beckons me_

_Shall I give in?_

_Upon my end shall I begin_

_Forsaking all I've fallen for_

_I rise to meet the end_

-Evanescence

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The once beautiful, blue sky filled with fluffy, white clouds and the sun shining brightly, was covered by black smoke. Red was seen everywhere as random wild fires rose higher to the sky, enveloping the air with toxic smog. The once lush, green field, was replaced by brown and corpses were littered everywhere. The smell of rotting flesh and blood reeked the air, signaling the war that was still raging on.

Screams of pain and blood oozing out of the soldiers fighting, how did it ever come down to this? Our people's bodies were everywhere, some missing an arm, leg or even their head. Everywhere you stepped there was the blood or the body of a best friend. These people were like family to me, they accepted me in their home. It was hard to see them die in such a gruesome and unsightly way. It all started too quickly, from a verbal threat to such a repugnant war.

I ran as fast as I could, leaping in the air and avoiding attacks from the horrific monsters. I tried my best not to see what was happening and just focus on my destination, but it was much too hard. Can you imagine running and as you run you hear someone scream bloody murder, their blood splattering all over your body. Especially if that person was part of your family, people you loved and cared about.

I wiped away the tear that escaped without my knowing and continued my goal, but just as I was running I heard a deadly scream. I tried to ignore it, but I soon felt the ground leaving my feet and my body being flung across the body littered floor. I quickly flipped in the air and landed on the ground, but just as I landed, a claw was sent my way. I gasped and leaped into the air, just barely dodging the huge clawed hand. I looked down in mid-air to see those horrid monsters that did this to our land. I landed a few meters away from the demon and looked at the place where its eyeballs were supposed to be, only holes were visible for its eyes.

_I have no choice, but to fight it, _I solemnly muse to myself, _But it has to be done quickly, if not Toki would be-, _suddenly I'm cut off from my thoughts as a familiar blonde intercepted the demon's attack, startling me at the fact I had lowered my defenses.

"I'll take care of this Mieko! You go and save Toki!" Ryoku bellowed loudly over the demon's thundering roar.

My eyes widened as I saw Ryoku going at it with the demon. I couldn't move. All I could think about at the moment was _not him_. He was one of the people that accepted me the most, the one I had come to love. I watched as his hands fully transformed into claws, his teeth turning into sharp fangs, his eyes turning into that familiar purple/grey color and his pupils turning into silver slits. I stood a few feet behind him, completely paralyzed, only able to hear the growls emitting from his throat.

Ryoku manages to throw the demon onto the ground and growls out, "Go Mieko!"

I softly shake my head and stare at him desperately. "No! I can't leave you Ryoku! I don't want to lose you!"

I held back the tears, now was not the time for crying, but I couldn't help the hopelessness I felt right now. I continued to watch as Ryoku held down the monster and quickly swiped his claws through the monsters neck. Black blood spurted out, as the demon didn't even have time to scream in agony. Its head rolled away from its body as its eyes had returned at the last minute, making green iris's stare blankly at me. I quickly stepped away from the head and ran toward Ryoku, embracing him tightly.

"You can't die! You promised me that-," though my sentence is interrupted as I felt Ryoku lift my chin with his claws gently, making him see my tears. His purple/grey eyes softened even more when they saw my tear stained face. His voice came out in a low soothing whisper that calmed me down in that instant.

"Don't worry my little kitten, everything is going to be alright. My life doesn't matter. All that matters is getting Toki to safety. If they get her...just promise me that you'll survive alright?"

I felt his cold lips press against mine, as he pulled me closer to his body. I knew this was going to be the last moment we were going to have together, so I embraced him and poured all my love into that one kiss. But his body suddenly became alert, as he quickly pulled away and dodged an attack from another demon. We landed meters away from the demon, I knew this was it. He gave me a quick peck on my forehead and let me go just in time to block the demons mouth.

"NOW MIEKO! GO!"

I nodded my head sadly and whispered "I love you" knowing he heard it. I looked back one last time and quickly began to flash step my way to the center of the village. I wasn't going to let these monsters take Toki into their possession, who knows what would happen if they did. To have that kind of power in the wrong hands would be treacherous.

I was more determined than ever to get to the center of the village, more than anything. I soon got to the center and looked around at my surroundings-quiet. The way the houses and land was, you could tell there was a battle here before. I stealthily walked over to a house that looked completely demolished and began to take away the rubble from a certain spot. I remember this place all too well, I would visit here the most, it was where Ryoku lived. He showed me this hiding spot. Under the book shelf was a small door, where underground was the lab of Fushigi-sama.

I finally reached the door handle and pulled on it with all my strength, opening it right after. I looked around me, making sure I wasn't being watched or followed. After I confirmed that it was safe, I quickly jumped down the hole, choosing to ignore the stairs. I began to see lights and soon my feet found the ground, leaving me in the familiar large room.

"Mieko, you made it. I'm glad."

A smirk finds a way into my face at the familiar voice as I respond with my back to them. "What, did you think I would let myself be killed? It's like you don't know me at all Hito-sama."

I turned to look at Hito-sama as he stepped out of the shadows, the familiar slit silver pupils staring at me. Soon Kasumi-sama came out from the shadows as well, standing on Hito-sama's left.

"At any rate, we're glad you decided to take this task Mieko. Knowing it might cost your life," Kasumi-sama responds as she smiles over at me.

I only return the smile. "I would do anything for Toki-bozu, she's like a little sister to me. I won't let anything bad happen to her, you have my word."

"I'm very proud of you Mieko," Hito-sama comments this time as a smile graces his handsome face. "Follow me if you will."

I watched as Hito-sama walked toward a metal door, Kasumi-sama right behind him. I followed close behind Kasumi-sama and gazed as Hito-sama cut his index finger with his claw and insert it on the scanner. Soon the metal door slid open and revealed a much smaller room, where Toki was fast asleep on a futon.

My eyes softened, as I stared at her peaceful sleeping figure, her shoulder length silver hair cascading all over the pillow. To think that this little girl held all that amazing power without her knowing it. I glanced at Kasumi-sama to see her near tears just staring at her daughter, it was heart breaking.

"We already erased her memory. She won't remember this horrid war or...anyone for that matter," came Hito-sama's voice as he looked over at Toki sadly.

"To think that we would have to resort to this...," I replied softly as my gaze flickered to the floor.

Kasumi-sama only nods gravely, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "It's for the best...that she doesn't remember this place."

"Mieko, I already set the machine," continues on Hito-sama as he walked over to me. "Take Toki and take care of her please. Soon this place will cease to exist."

My eyes widened at what he said, what did he mean cease to exist? He never told me anything about this. I stared at both of them in disbelief and grief, were they really going to do this?

"You're not serious! You can't do that! What if you end up winning the war? Toki could come back and have her memory restored!" I bellowed out shrilly as my eyes shown the confusion I felt. "That was the plan wasn't it? I thought this arrangement was only temporary!"

I was near tears by now, why did they change the plan? It would surely work and now they plan on just deleting this dimension forever? It didn't make any sense!

Hito-sama only sighs sadly. "Mieko please understand. I know this seems rash, but we talked it over with the elders and they agree. This is the best solution there is. Our dimension has gotten much too dangerous, we've been risking the balance ever since we were created."

"Please Mieko, do this for us, for our people," Kasumi-sama chimed in.

I stared at the floor, my eyes wide with fear and panic, would I really not see them, my family, again? They took me in after I ran away from home, even though I wasn't even part of them. They were my family now, much more than my real family ever could be. Was I really willing to give all this up? But at least...I would always have Toki.

"Alright...I'll do it. For Toki and our people," I respond.

I smiled brightly at them, a bit of sadness still lingering in my eyes. Both returned the smile, although I could clearly see the grief in their eyes-this was hurting them twice as much as it does me. Just as Hito-sama was walking toward the machine, an explosion came from the ceiling-a demon falling through. Its piercing howl broke through the walls, no one noticing the little sparks the machine started to give out. Hito-sama already started to fight with the demon, but more emerged from the ceiling, one landing right next to the sleeping Toki.

Kasumi-sama reacted quickly and grabbed Toki before the demon had a chance to swipe at her. I dodged a piece of metal heading toward me and see that a demon was the one responsible. Just as I landed, Kasumi-sama handed me the small sleeping figure of Toki and pushed me toward the machine.

"You must hurry Mieko! It's time! The elders are ready to begin and destroy this dimension!" She gently hugs me and whispers, "Please take care of her Mieko and when the time comes...tell her the truth."

I didn't have time to respond as Kasumi-sama pushed me toward the machine again-while blocking a demon. I gave everything one more gaze before my eyes landed on Toki, her small stature in my arms. But just as I was going to walk through the huge hole that was on the machine an energy beam shot at me, making Toki fly out of my arms and into the portal. My eyes widened in panic and I ran toward the portal, only to be blocked by a demon.

My rage boiled in my veins and I glared coldly at the demon, I jumped in the air and landed behind the demon-making my way to the portal. Just as I had landed, the demons head rolled onto the floor and landed in front of the machine. I glared at the demon once again, before jumping into the portal, trying to get to where Toki was sent.

But what I didn't see clearly was where the demon's head had landed. The small screen that held the coordinates was flashing red, different words were placed, while the automatic voice of the machine was deafened by the battle going on.

'_Warning! Malfunction! Original data corrupted!'_

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A man with light blonde hair stepped out of his division and walked toward his training area. His white and black robes swishing with the wind, as he got to his destination. Soon a small and faint noise was heard, the sound of crying rang through the night air. He came upon a small figure in the dark and let his grey eyes gaze at the small child. The little girl soon felt the large shadow cascading down on her and looked up with wide, fear stricken, olive/yellow eyes.

The man let a smile play on his face, as he kneeled down in front of the little girl and held out his hand. The little girl watched him with curiosity now in her big eyes, while she couldn't help but be soothed by the man's rough yet gentle voice.

"Hey there why are you crying? A little girl as pretty as you shouldn't be sad."

The little girl couldn't hold back the small giggle that escaped her lips, the tears now stopping. The man smiled gently at her as the little girl put her small hand in his large one, a smile replacing the frown that was on her lips just seconds ago. The man stood up straight and looked down at the little girl who was staring at him in curiosity.

"Tell me, what's your name? Mine's Kisuke Urahara," Kisuke replies as he smiles softly.

The little girl looked down at the ground sadly for a moment, before something flashed in her eyes and she smiled brightly at him. Her meek voice being a huge difference to Kisuke's rough voice.

"My name is Toki. But I don't know what my last name is...," she gently trails off with sadness laced in the last sentence.

Kisuke caught the sadness in her voice while she still smiled and making his eyes soften. He looked forward, walking toward his division with Toki's small hand in his. "Alright Toki, would you mind me asking why you were out here by yourself?"

Kisuke glanced down at her again, his small smile never leaving his face. Toki smiled sadly, although the tears pooled in her olive/ yellow colored eyes, pouring down her small round face.

"I don't know. I woke up where I was. I don't remember anything, except my name."

Toki smiled at Kisuke brightly, the warm tears still running down her cheeks. Kisuke smiled once again and picked Toki up in his arms, wiping away her tears with his thumb. Toki yawned and snuggled into Kisuke's chest, surprising him at how comfortable she was with him. But then Kisuke held her close and walked into the 12th division, while Toki was soon fast asleep.


	2. Mixed Emotions

**Hello everyone! I want to thank everyone who gave me reviews, whether they were good or bad, and I want to clear up some things that came up. I took into consideration what you guys told me about the transition of first person to third being a bit confusing and cleaned it up. I thought about it and realized that this story is better off in third, being that some future chapters I had written transition between first and third a lot. So to avoid confusion I decided to write this story all in third person from now on. Also, I know one of you dislike the fact that the prologue was very vague in describing Toki and Mieko's history, but I am sorry to say that this story is a mystery and I will not change that. When I first wrote it, yes, I did intend for it to be very mysterious and leave the reader's guessing; being that I myself love a juicy mystery. So I am sorry, but if you don't like a mystery, then I suggest you not read this story. On a last note, no, this is not my first time writing a story, nor is this the first story I wrote. In me saying that this is my first story, I meant it as in its my first story on _Fanfiction_. In my profile I explained how I wrote stories on Quizilla and decided to bring them over here little by little. Anyway, that's all. ^^''**

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><p><em>Out of the night that coves me,<em>

_Black as the Pit form pole to pole,_

_I thank whatever gods may be_

_For my unconquerable soul._

_In the fell clutch of circumstance_

_I have not winched nor cried aloud._

_Under the bludgeoning of chance_

_My head is blood but unbowed._

_Beyond this place of wrath and tears_

_Loom but the horror of the shade,_

_And yet the menace of the years_

_Finds, and shall find me, unafraid._

_It matters not how strait the gate,_

_How charged with punishments the scroll,_

_I am the master of my fate;_

_I am the captain of my soul._

**-William Ernest Henley-**

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Olive yellow eyes stare at the white ceiling, as the sun shines through the window. A dazed look sets upon the creamy complexion of a young teenage girl, before a heavy sigh escapes her lips. The girl lazily gets out of her bed and turns to her digital clock; 7:00 AM it read. The girl takes the handles from her closet and opens the doors; blacks, blues, greens, reds, purples and whites decorate her closet, but the girl hesitantly pulls out a white, collared buttoned up shirt, and a grey skirt. The girl's nose scrunches up in disgust at the clothes, as she lays them out in the teal colored quilt on her bed.

She then proceeds to take off her pajamas and gets dressed in the uniform she was obligated to wear. Once done, the girl looks at her reflection and sighs, but then got a too innocent smile on her lips. The girl then skips to her drawer and pulls it open, grabbing a red tie and prying off the dreaded bow, placing the red tie in its place. She then undoes two of the buttons from her shirt, her collarbone now visible, and the red tie hanging loosely from her neck. She then gets black, low heeled boots from her closet and puts them over her grey colored socks, making them go just under her knee.

The girl, now satisfied, looks at her reflection from the bathroom mirror and puts on a small, black butterfly barrette on the left side of her silver hair. The girl does all of the bathroom necessities and walks to the kitchen, where she grabs an apple and leaves her small apartment. The girl takes a deep breath, as she gets out of the complex and starts to walk toward the school, listening to her iPod on the way.

She then stops in front of the school doors, where the tardy bell barely rung. The girl slings her book bag over her shoulder and walks through the empty hallway, making her way toward the main office. As she gets there, she gets her schedule from the secretary and makes her way toward her first period class.

Just as the girl was outside of the doors, she sighs heavily again. She then takes hold of the door and slides it open, making dozens of eyes stare at her rigid figure. She bows her head and quickly walks toward the teacher, giving her the note from the main office. The teacher nods her head and turns toward the class.

"Class it seems we have a new student with us," the teacher starts as she then turns toward the girl, "Please tell us your name dear and a little about yourself."

The girl inconspicuously glares at the teacher, not liking the idea of speaking in front of the class; she never did like being the center of attention. The girl lets out a mushroom sigh and looks at the awaiting and whispering students.

"My name is Toki and I am sort of new to Karakura town," replies Toki as she rubs her neck in embarrassment and smiles shyly.

The teacher then motions for her to take a seat toward the back, the ones close to the windows. Toki timidly walks toward her seat, the class following her every move and not making it any easier for her. Once Toki sits down, she breathes a sigh of relief, seeing as the class began to look at the teacher again.

The periods seemed to fly by and before Toki knew it, it was already time for lunch. She begins to pack her things in her locker and heads outside, only carrying a book and her apple in hand. Toki looks at the school yard and finally finds a place where she could be alone; a nice oak tree. Toki walks toward the tree and sits on the ground, her back against the base of the tree. She bites into her apple and begins to read her thick book _Kissed By An Angel_.

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The first month of school so far seemed so boring and uninteresting to Toki, the same routine following the next. She would always spend her time alone and no one bothered talking to her. Not that she had a problem with that. She is generally an independent person, although it would be nice for her if she had a few friends. But today seems a bit different from the rest, it's Friday. Just as Toki gets to her first period, like always sitting in her seat close by the window, she notices something.

Just as she sat down on her seat, Toki sees a splash of orange come into her view. On the row next to her on the left side, a seat ahead of where she is, sits a tall orange-haired boy. It surprised Toki how for a whole month she never noticed this guy, it utterly shocked her. Usually she noticed things fairly quick, but this just seemed to slap her right in the face for some reason.

The guy is right diagonal from her seat, how could she not notice something like that? What also surprised her of how distant she was to the world was that his group of friends weren't really...quiet. Something that should have gotten her attention the first day of school. She watches as a brown haired boy comes up to the orange head excited, but only ends up in him getting his head stuck under the carrot-tops foot.

Toki watches them with curiosity and amusement in her olive yellow eyes; they seem like a fun bunch. But out of all of them, she just can't stop her eyes from glancing at the scowling teen. She seems very interested in him, she just can't help wonder why he scowled. Surely there must be a reason for it, perhaps a bad day?

There is a deep lingering feeling in her body, the ambiance of wanting to befriend the boy and find out more about him. It's a sensation Toki herself cannot describe, something completely new to her. Suddenly, the brown headed boy that is currently whining to the scowling teen looks over to Toki and grins. Just as the boy is about to walk toward her, the bell rang; making the boy grudgingly walk back to his seat.

During the whole period, Toki couldn't stop herself from stealing glances at the boy in front of her. How he absentmindedly looked out the window, while scribbling some notes the teacher wrote on the board. She saw how he would fiddle around with his pencil or look toward the clock every now and then. It stunned her how perceptive she was of the male, how she would observe the diminutive actions he would do. But what bemused her most was the sudden feeling of familiarity she had toward the boy.

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Toki puts her books into her locker and grabs her things, closing the locker when she's done. But just as she closes her locker, the same lurid orange comes into her view, making her stop at mid-step. It was that guy again, the one she had barely noticed that she has all of her classes with; yeah, all of them. She felt like such an idiot only just noticing someone as handsome as him.

After class had ended with his chipper friend trying to come toward her, but Toki got so embarrassed that she practically crawled out of the classroom. She was never an expert when it came to guys PERIOD. She can still remember tripping on absolutely nothing when a very cute guy talked to her last week. How humiliating, no? Well back to the present. Toki can almost instantly feel her face heat up as he turns and looks at her. Before she can stop it, her hold on her bag slackens, making the bag drop and scatter her belongings all over the floor.

She only gasps as her already red face turns a very bright crimson. Toki quickly kneels down and begins to pick up her things, muttering a line of curses under her breath. She suddenly sees another pair of shoes come into her view and a light colored hand beginning to pick up her stuff. Just as all of her belongings were back into her bag, Toki stands up and bows her head while softly saying a "thank you."

"No problem," replies the boy.

The way he spoke...it sounded familiar to her somehow; the laid back tone ringing through her ear drums. Toki debated to look up at him or not, she'd probably look like a cherry if he saw her face. The two stood like that for a minute, neither one of them leaving. Toki's excuse being that her feet felt like they were glued to the floor. Mustering the courage she had, she finally looks up to see his face, but only sees his chest. She never thought that he would be this tall, it made her already small figure of 5'1'' seem like she's just a 12 year old.

"Whoa...you're really tall. Or maybe I'm just short," she suddenly blurts out her thoughts.

Realizing what she had just said, her face turns even redder; if that's even possible. Her only thought being: _RUN YOU IDIOT!_

"Uh...I," the boy starts.

Toki didn't even let the guy finish as she tries to bolt toward the school door, though, notice the word _tries._ She ends up tripping over her own cursed feet, making her land face first on the hard marble floor. That's going to leave a mark. She groans softly in pain and sits up, both of her legs were on her right side while her left hand supported her, and her right hand held onto her face. Toki hears footsteps pound onto the floor, then hears that laid back voice with a bit of panic laced into it.

"Hey, are you okay? That was a pretty bad fall," he comments as he holds onto her arm to help her up.

At this moment Toki felt so mortified that she couldn't even look at the guy, her face probably already out-reddened a cherry. She only nods her head, not trusting her voice at the moment. Why do these things always happen to her she wondered.

"I-I'm fine, r-really," she gently reassures him in a stutter as she stands up with his help. "I-I should probably get h-home now."

Before the boy had a chance to talk, Toki had already gotten up and began running toward the exit. Even after she got off the school grounds, she kept running and stumbles a few times on the way. When she finally reaches her apartment, she practically rips the door off its hinges. She quickly slams the door shut and breathes a few times, before walking to the kitchen and serving herself a glass of water. How many times can a girl make a downright fool out of herself every time she talks to a cute guy? Maybe it was just her; she doubted this happened to many girls at her school.

She sighs again and trudges back to her room, falling back on the bed. Toki stays like that for a few minutes, and then groans when she imagined how much of fool she made herself look like. She rolls onto her stomach and suddenly remembers the feeling she had when she saw him today. It was…strange. She felt like she had seen him before, but what confused her most was the feeling of nostalgia. Had she really met that guy before? No, because then he would recall her name wouldn't he? It was a possibility that she had met him before, right?

Seeing as Toki only remembers a year of her life.

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The following morning, Toki dresses in her same (altered) uniform and begins to walk to the school, yawning a few times. She had spent almost all night looking out the window and thinking about that feeling. It kept nagging at her brain, every time she would try to think of something else it would come out of nowhere and pester her to no end. She didn't get any sleep at all, meaning that it was best she didn't drift off.

Though all too soon, Toki suddenly feels someone jerk her arm back, making her lose balance and land on her rear. Her eyes were still half lidded, but she didn't miss the car that was speeding down the road honking its horn at her. Another yawn escapes her mouth, while she covers her lips with her hand. She almost felt like she would just knock out on the sidewalk, but she feels someone put their hand on her shoulder and steady her already falling figure.

"Are you alright?"

Toki lazily cranes her neck to look at the person that was kneeling down to her level. Once the person was kneeling in front of her, she looks at them and realizes it's a guy. A rather large guy. He has dark colored skin and is very well built, while his brown shaggy hair falls on his eyes. Toki instantly remembers him from somewhere, but she's too tired to even restart her brain cells. She tries to talk, but a yawn escapes from her lips again. Once she was done, she smiles at him. Although her smile was a bit lopsided.

"Yeah I'm fine. Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome."

_Silence._

"We should get to school."

Toki watches the guy stand up to his rather tall height, while she stayed on the ground, too tired to move. The guy looks down at her and gently picks her up by her upper arms. It surprised her how someone as big and bulky as him could be so gentle, but she was too spent to actually be taken aback. After a few times of Toki almost tripping or falling, the guy always saving her from a face full of concrete, the two arrive at the school. She groans when she hears the bell ring. She was too exhausted to think, much less work.

Even after they walk through the school, both stay side by side, Toki not even noticing a few bystanders whispering and glancing at them. It then occurred to her, her brain actually functioning even if it is just a bit, that she never bothered asking him for his name. Did he even know her name?

"Hey, I never got your name," comments Toki as she lazily cranes her neck over to the male, a very blank expression on her face.

The guy glances down at her and smiles a bit, but then he looks forward again. "My name is Yasutora Sado, but you can call me Chad."

"Alright Chad, nice to meet you," she replies as she looks back forward as well. "By the way, do you know my name or do I have to introduce myself?"

Toki's nose scrunches up in disgust when she remembered how the teacher made her introduce herself on the first day. Something she particularly didn't like or enjoy. She begins to think again, trying to rack her memory of where she had seen this guy before, but came up with nothing.

"I know who you are. We have a few classes together," responds Chad.

Toki blinks, before nodding. "Oh! Now I remember where I've seen you, kind of hard to miss someone as big and tall as you…"

Her sentence trails off as she puts a finger to her chin and thought for a while-how _did_ she not notice him? Apart from not noticing the other guy, this was just ridiculous! Toki was usually very vigilant.

Chad and Toki walk through the classroom door together, but end up separating when he walks toward his friends. Just when she smiles a goodbye she gets a look at his friends and can almost feel her mouth touch the floor in shock.

This could not be happening! His friends were the ones she had barely noticed the day before! He's friends with the orange haired male. Now she really felt like she's losing her touch. She didn't even notice that she was standing like an idiot next to her desk until the guy she recently caught the name of, Keigo, calls her over. Her face instantly heats up, but the bell rang just in time to save her.

Time quickly flies by as the bell rang for next period, but as the students get a few minutes to themselves, Toki couldn't help but listen to Chad's friend's conversation.

"Ichigo is it really true? Did your house really get rammed in by a truck?" comments a petite black haired girl in surprise and slight wariness as she looks to the boy.

_So his name is Ichigo, eh?_ Muses Toki in her mind as she watches them from her seat.

Just as she was enjoying their-hilarious-conversation, Chad beckons her over. Earning the others to look in her direction as well, even Ichigo. Swell. She feels her cheeks warm up, as the boy named Keigo comes over and literally drags Toki to the group.

"I finally get to talk to the lovely Toki!" Keigo begins as he holds onto her hand, despite her weak protests. "I've wanted to get you to eat lunch with us, but you're always in different places! I also wanted to get to know you better. You know that way we can be a little something more-"

Keigo's rambling stop as Ichigo punches him in the face, making Keigo practically slide to the other side of the room. Toki's hand is still in mid-air where Keigo's hands had previously held it; all the while she blinks a couple of times in surprise.

Ichigo just stares over at Keigo with an annoyed look plastered on his face. "Will you just shut up? You're probably scaring the poor girl."

"I was not! She was going to say yes until you rudely interrupted. Right my dear Toki?"

Toki only blinks even more in confusion and shock, staring at Keigo who suddenly was not on the floor anymore, but by her side. Is there something wrong with this guy? Had he not just been unconscious just a few seconds ago by Ichigo's punch?

"Huh?" Toki mumbles out in confusion.

Though before she can react, Keigo grabs her into a bone crushing hug. "So kawaii! You look so cute when your confused Toki!"

"I...c-can't...brea...breathe!" She gasps out as she tries get out of his hug.

All of a sudden, the classroom door opens and Keigo automatically lets Toki go. Oxygen never felt so good! When she finally was able to breathe, Toki looks up to see what the fuss was about, but all she really got to see is a black haired girl.

"You? What are you doing here?" Ichigo cries out as he stands up from his desk, pointing an accusatory finger at the small girl.

"Hello, my name is Rukia. It is very nice to meet you," Rukia replies with an overly sweet smile, while ignoring Ichigo's questions.

Though, all Toki could feel and hear at this moment was not Ichigo screaming or the girl's weird way of speaking. But the name 'Rukia' kept repeating in her mind like a broken record. While her fists shook, but why?

Toki was surprised to find out that the feeling is nothing, but pure hatred.


	3. Visions and Monsters

**Hello everyone! I know its been a while since I updated this story and thought I should finally put the new chapter out there. Hopefully the next ones take too long for me to post. But the new job limits me time and patience to sit down and enjoy re-writing this. :/ Anyway, reviews are greatly appreciated! :)**

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><p>"These violent delights have violent ends<p>

And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,

Which, as they kiss, consume."

_Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene VI_

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Toki tosses and turns in her bed, but gives up and sighs. She sits up and looks at her digital clock; it was only 1 o'clock in the morning. She rests her back on the headboard and glances out the window, gazing at the moon.

After a minute or so of sitting there, the girl decided to get some fresh air. Toki stands up and puts some sandals on; she didn't really care to change. All she had on was a spaghetti shirt and pajama pants on her frame. She then gets her keys and locks the door, making her way out the complex. As soon as the girl got out the apartment complex, an exhausted sigh escapes her lips and she began her walk.

Toki just wandered aimlessly, catching the streets to find her way back home, but before she knew it, she found herself at the park. She looks at the entrance and shrugs; what harm could going to the park do? So she enters the park and begins to look at everything. For some reason Toki hadn't gone to the park in her whole year here. She knew it sounds absurd, but she avoided it because it gave her the chills. But for some reason, today she decided that it was time to finally go in.

She suddenly stops walking when a playground came to her vision up ahead, but just as she laid her eyes on it, she could have sworn she saw a girl swinging on the swings. Toki's eyes widen a bit when she sees that girl had silver hair, but, unlike hers, it stopped at her waist. That had seemed to be the only difference, seeing as her eyes were the same as Toki's, her complexion, features, body length, height; everything. It looked just like her. But then she notices her clothing; it wasn't from this time. It was a white Victorian dress. Her feet were bare as the dress swayed with the wind, along with her hair.

The last thing Toki noticed was that she wasn't swinging on the swing she had seen; it was only a log tied to some rope, dangling from an old oak tree. Then...she vanished. Toki blinks and becomes aware of the fact that she was no longer staring at the swings anymore, but the trees. She looks around mystified, and then it registers to her mind that she isn't standing anymore either.

She's sitting on the swing she had seen the girl on.

Toki jumps a bit and sees that she is still in the park, thankfully, and on modern swings not a log. She brings her arm up to her face and witnesses that she had Goosebumps crawling all over her skin. Disregarding what she had just seen, for her own sake, Toki leaves the bumps as a sign she should have brought a sweater; and begins to rub her arms for warmth. Toki begins to swing lightly on the swing, letting the wind do most of the work. But then she stops as she remembers last month's earlier events.

Toki's mind races back at the memory of a month ago, remembering the feeling of hatred running cold in her veins as she saw that girl. Rukia.

_Toki watched that girl the whole day and still couldn't figure out why she felt like she wanted to kill her. Toki was surprised at herself actually. She doesn't know why she felt such animosity toward her. Toki couldn't take it anymore, so she stood up from her spot on the roof with the guys and left toward the door. Unfortunately, she wasn't as inconspicuous as she wanted to be._

"_Hey Toki, where are you going?"_

_Toki's hand stopped at the handle as she sighed. So much for escaping. She only looked behind her shoulder, not bothering to turn all the way fearing that she might catch Rukia's eye, and smiled at the voice that stopped her._

"_I don't feel good, so I'm going to nurse's office."_

_She saw him stand up and take a step toward her. "Want me to take you?"_

_Toki looked back toward the door and opened it, hiding the blush that she felt come to her cheeks._

"_It's fine Kurosaki-san, I can walk there myself."_

"_If you say so," was his reply._

_With that, she let the door close behind her frame as she descended the stairs and proceeded to walk to her locker. After Toki closed her locker, she walked out the school doors. She didn't really consider, or care for that matter, of the consequences of walking out the school without permission. She just wanted to get the heck out of there._

_Toki took the long way home and about forty minutes later she got to her apartment. She locked the door and threw her stuff somewhere in her room, as she sat on her bed. Five minutes passed and Toki decided that a nice steaming bath would calm down her frazzled nerves. She walked to her bathroom and stripped off her clothes, while she let the hot water run in the tub. She then closed the knob and got inside the tub until only her head was peeking out the water._

_The young girl stared at the wall for what seemed like hours, blinking slowly every time. She didn't notice she had fallen asleep until she opened her eyes and perceived the dream she just had. It was with Rukia and Toki, only both females were wearing the same black robe. It was completely bizarre to Toki because they seemed to be in a death match; their swords clashing with each other. A few sparks were even seen here and there, but one thing was for sure...Toki was winning. She remembered that in the dream she was so much faster and her blows were more powerful than hers. It seemed Toki would have killed her if it wasn't for other people dressed like them breaking the fight._

_But what weirded Toki out the most was that she kept screaming something at Rukia, chronically. All she can remember is the word murderer. Just as she was going to say something else, Toki woke up._

_What was she going to say? All she remembered was: "Murderer! You..." You what?_

_Toki shook her head in defeat and got out the bath tub; wrapping a towel around her body. She was so tired for some reason and got dressed in her pajamas, then laid down on her bed. Hoping to forget about her strange day today._

Toki gets jerked out of her memory as the earth shakes with terrible force, making her fall out the swing from surprise. She gets up slowly and looks around her, but then her feet get knocked over as the ground shakes with even more force than the first time. Toki couldn't get up anymore as the dirt beneath her kept trembling.

_**CRACK!**_

Toki looks up and sees a large tree coming down toward her. Her eyes widen as she tries to quickly crawl out the way, but she stops as she feels an agonizing pressure on her foot. Toki screams lightly and turns to see that her foot is caught under the tree that had fallen. She tries getting it out, but the tree was too heavy and it felt like she was going to rip her foot off in the process.

"Trapped like a mouse in a mouse trap, how perfect."

Chills went up and down her spine at the voice, as her breath hitches up her throat. Toki turns her head slightly, but stops dead as she sees a huge black monster coming toward her.

"It seems like I'm going to be full by the time I'm finished with you," it taunts, "Such massive power from a little girl…"

Now that it was closer, Toki could make out the huge white mask on its face, while also seeing that it had a long scorpion like tail and crawled on all fours; along with a giant hole where its heart had to be. Its appearance made her shake even more in her spot. Never had she seen anything more terrifying than this thing. It seemed like Toki was paralyzed from the horror, since her body wouldn't move and her mind completely shut down. It wasn't until she felt pain jolt throughout her body was she fully aware of the fact that the monster was crushing her with its claws. Her strident scream echoes all over the park as it kept digging her body further and further into the damp ground.

"I just love to hear the screams of the ones I'm going to devour. It energizes me," it sneers as it lifts its claw off Toki's body.

Her breathing comes out ragged as she tries to move her body, but cries out in agony as she tried to sit up. Toki's back connects with the earth again as she hears the hollow begin to cackle at her pain. She couldn't think straight anymore; the pain being the only thing her mind is concentrating on.

Without warning, Toki feels her body being flung across the air. Her back crashes through a tree and smashes into a second one before sliding down to the ground. She could feel tears stinging her eyes, wanting to come out at the intense agony her body was going through; as she feels blood dripping down her forehead and back. Toki didn't need to look back to know that when she slid down the tree, she left a line of blood. Her shirt ripped from the back, while her pants were tattered, and her sandals were long forgotten somewhere.

It was now that Toki began to wonder if she truly was going to die today. But strangely enough, the crystal droplets fall off her face as she realizes that she wasn't going to see Ichigo anymore. Toki didn't know why, but just the thought of her not seeing his face anymore saddened her. The pain she's feeling because of that thought is far greater than her own physical pain. It isn't possible. She only met him a month ago, how could she feel something so strong for him in this little amount of time?

Toki hears the distant, but familiar laugh of the monster as she tries to see it through her bleary vision. She lifts her head in pain and tries to make sense of what is going on, but her vision would come and go. And every time she blinked, the monster seemed closer each time until it was looming in front of her.

"Perfect...tracking you...worth it all...," she hears its voice, but it sounds like it's muffled and keeps cutting off. Or maybe it was just her?

Toki feels herself leaving the world of consciousness, as she sees it open its mouth and lunge for her, but...she never feels the pain. She forces herself to crack her eyes open, at least half way, to see why that was. All she hears is a very familiar voice and black robes in front of her as her world turns black. But, she can't understand why there is a name being repeated in her mind when she heard that voice. A name that brought back unbearable pain to Toki's heart.

Ichigo runs down the street, Rukia a few feet behind him, as he tries to get to the park; where Rukia said the Hollow was at. He glances back at Rukia and notices she has a thoughtful, distant expression on her face. Ichigo is not entirely sure, but it seems that she's been like this ever since she saw Toki. He looks forward again as he remembers that day. It was actually the first time Ichigo got to know Toki a bit, even though he's known her since she first came, but that was the first time he actually had a conversation with her.

But the day Rukia enrolled at Karakura high school, Ichigo had seen Toki tense and clench her fists when she came through the door. Throughout the day she didn't relax her body, her body stayed stiff the whole time. It got him curious, yet worried. Did she know what Rukia was? What he is now? But that wasn't what only got him worried. After Toki had left to the nurse's office that day, she didn't come to school the next day…or the next week. It was a week later after Rukia came, did she show up again. It was funny actually, when she came through the door that morning Orihime and Keigo ambushed her with hugs and questions about why she didn't come for a whole week. It seemed that in one day everyone had gotten attached to her. Ichigo kind of hated to admit it, but he did too. It's just hard not to like her, there's just something indescribable about her that makes people trust in her.

Ichigo's thoughts get disturbed when he hears a shrill scream that made his heart drop and make him stop running immediately. It was filled with so much pain, that he would do anything just to stop it. But his heart feels as if it stopped when he, unfortunately, recognizes the scream and who it belongs too.

"TOKI!" Ichigo began to run faster toward the park, but felt like it was half way around the world. They were so far away from it. But he didn't care, he just wanted to get there and murder that damned Hollow for hurting her.

He sees Rukia falling behind and debates whether or not to wait for her. And it seems she understood his wariness.

"Go Ichigo. I'll catch up. Go defeat that hollow before it kills her!"

Ichigo nods once and speeds off, jumping on some roofs until he finally sees the park coming into view. Suddenly, he hears a huge crash as a tree breaks and falls over. He curses loudly and jumps off the roof he was on, landing somewhere in the park. Ichigo begins to run toward the direction he heard the Hollow start to laugh, making his teeth grind in anger. That damned bastard was laughing at her pain. He couldn't describe it, but he felt like he could somewhat feel the pain she was going through. He was about to stop when a sudden image flashes into his mind, but he only runs faster as he sees exactly what the image is.

Tears. Crystal tears were falling off her pale, blood stained face as her whole body seemed to take on the color red. Her clothes were torn and her breaths were coming out slow and shallow.

Ichigo finally makes it to the clearing and stops in front of her, blocking the Hollow's mouth with his sword. He hears her murmur something, but it was too low for him to comprehend what she said.

"A soul reaper. How dare you disrupt me from my meal!"

"The only meal you're going to have is my sword going down your throat!"

Ichigo pushes the Hollow back and as it stumbles he cuts off one of its legs, making it roar in pain. He sees its tail get ready to come down, so he quickly grabs Toki's limp body and jumps out the way. Debris of the ground flies everywhere, blocking his view of the hollow.

"Ichigo! Watch out! In front of you!"

Rukia's voice rings out suddenly and Ichigo quickly brings up his sword as its tail collides with it. Before he can do anything, the hollow lifts its tail and swiftly swings it to Ichigo's side. The young soul reaper flies back while his grip on Toki loosens, making her roll farther from where he is. He gets up as soon as he stops sliding, but takes in an intake of breath when he sees what the Hollow has wrapped around its tail.

"Let her go you filthy bastard!"

Ichigo glares murderously at the Hollow as it starts to laugh, tightening its hold on Toki's body. He sees her blood dripping onto the floor and hears how even unconscious she whimpers in pain. It made his blood boil with fury. How dare he hurt her!

"I see this girl means a lot to you. Such a shame that you will have to watch your lover die! But don't worry," it continues to sneer, "You'll soon join her."

The young soul reaper can feel the blush trying to come to his face at the indication the hollow made of the two of them, but he pushes it back, along with the feeling, and lets his glare intensify. Ichigo lifts his sword and gets ready to cut him down into pieces. If anything, he was going to make him pay for what he had done to Toki.

"I'm going to make you pay for what you did to her," Ichigo threatens in a low voice.

Without another word he jumps up and swiftly cuts off another one of its legs, making it roar louder and drop Toki to the ground. He easily avoids the hollow's claws as it tries to swipe at his body, but gets cut with its tail he had forgotten about. Ichigo falls to his knees, but quickly gets out the way as its tail stabs the ground he used to stand on. The Hollow tries to lift its tail again, but to no avail. Its tail had gotten embedded into the ground. Seeing this as his chance, Ichigo jumps on its tail and runs toward its face, letting his blade cut it the whole way there. He jumps into the air and brings his sword down, slashing the hollow across the mask as it tries to capture him with its teeth.

Ichigo lands on the ground, watching as the monster quickly disintegrates and vanishes into the night sky. He sighs relieved and looks over to where Rukia is. In his fit of anger, Ichigo had almost forgotten what had gotten him so worked up in the first place. He jogs toward where Rukia is and kneels across from her, on Toki's right. His brown orbs watch as Rukia heals Toki with her Kido, or that's what she had told him what it's called.

"Is she going to be okay?" He asks softly, not looking away from Toki's pale face.

"She was wounded severely," she replies while her eyebrows knit together in worry, "but that's not what's got me worried..."

Ichigo looks away from Toki's face and stares over at Rukia, almost dreading the answer. "What is it?"

Rukia looks up at him. "The more serious wounds in her body...are healing." There was something in her eyes that told Ichigo this wasn't the first time she had seen this. It was almost a secretive look that there was something she knew, but didn't want to tell him. It was a look Ichigo had noticed she got since Toki had come to his school. As if she knew her, but that's not possible...is it?

"Rukia...," Ichigo starts as he stares at her intensely, deciding it was time he asked, "Do you...know Toki?"

He briefly sees a mix of emotions run through her face, but only identified a few: shock, anger, sadness and guilt. Now, he knew she's hiding something from him. Ichigo sees her look down, then stops and stares at Toki's face.

"That...," she states softly, "is not important."

"Not important? How can you say that it's not important? Rukia if-"

"That's not important." She stops him immediately with a harsh tone and an even icier stare. "What's important right now is getting her to your dad. She has too many injuries for me to heal her completely since my powers haven't come back fully yet."

The two teens stare each other down for a second. Ichigo wanted to ask so many questions about what she was hiding, but decides she's right. But that didn't mean he wouldn't bring this up again some other time.

He gingerly takes Toki into his arms and stands up, carrying her bridal style. He feels Rukia climb onto his back before taking off running to his house. Ichigo looks down at Toki's delicate face as his eyes soften. What a way to bring her into his twisted up life. But he couldn't help but think, as he looks away from her, that there is something about her that weirded the young soul reaper out. Something that threw him off a bit when he first became a death God. It wasn't spiritual pressure what he felt from her.

It was something beyond that.


	4. Memories

_**Well hello my lovely readers! I should probably be getting thrown rotten food while I duck behind a desk for how long this chapter took to get up. ._. I am so terribly sorry! With work, school and my procrastination, I just lost track of time. I truly am sorry for such a late update for whoever is reading this story. I'll try my best to get the next chapter out soon. For now, here is the next installment. ^_^ Hope you enjoy and please review if you have time. Any helpful criticism is welcomed. :)**_

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><p>"<em>Lieutenant Shiba! Did you see me?! I finally did it! I finally mastered my bankai!"<em>

* * *

><p>"<em>Hey Lieutenant Shiba! I-"<em>

"_How many times have I told you? It's just Kaien. Lieutenant is just too formal."_

_"Oh, sorry Lieutenant-I mean Kaien..."_

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><p><em>"Y'know...you're really special to me...I know that I can entrust my life to you."<em>

_"Oh...Kaien...I-I feel the same too..."_

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><p><em>"Alright, you're going to go up to him and tell him! Easy to do right? All you have to say is Kaien I lo-"<em>

_"You what?"_

_"K-Kaien! I...I...was just um, I was going to say I...lost my ring! Yeah! I lost my ring!"_

_"Whatever you say Toki...whatever you say..."_

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><p><em>"KAIEN! NO PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS TO ME! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME! KAIIIIIEENNNN!"<em>

Toki's eyes snap open as the dream fades into oblivion, only leaving her in a cold sweat and pounding heart. She sits up with a jerk as her own shrill and agonized scream from the dream rings in her ears; making her breaths come out in short and choppy wisps. As she looks into the darkness of her room, Toki tries to remember whose name she had been calling. In the dream, she was with a man, but who was he? The name escaped her mind out of the fright she felt at the last scene.

A cold shiver makes its way down the girl's spine until it hit her toes, freezing her whole body in a dead lock. Crimson. That was all she could see in the last section of the dream before she awoke. It covered her hands and legs; making it seem as if it was consuming every part of her body until it was decorated in the dark and murky color. The man had been bleeding profoundly as Toki cradled him in her arms; crystal tears falling off her face and onto his, mixing with the blood on his face as she yelled, begged for him not to die. But in Toki's mind, both dream and reality, she knew he wouldn't live; and even now, it tore her heart apart.

_But that's ridiculous, it was just a dream_, she thinks to herself as she moves her arm. But that's when she noticed.

Toki takes in a sharp breath and looks at her arms, legs, and whole body as it's covered in white bandages. She stands up swiftly and wobbles over to a small mirror on the wall and sees her head wrapped in bandages as well. But then there was something else that caught her attention.

This isn't her room.

She whirls around as her eyes scan the dim room as unfamiliarity washes over her body. Where was she? How did she even get here? Then, flashes of what happened hours ago come to her mind. The monster, then the flash of black robes and sandals.

Toki walks to the window slowly and opens it, letting the cool, crisp morning air blow into the room and freshen it up. She leans out of the window slightly and looks left and right, but then stops as she spots her apartment complex. She squints her eyes and confirms that it was hers, about a block down from wherever she is at right now. She hesitantly walks away from the window and really looks at the room now.

Its walls are painted a light tan while she notices that it looked more like the nurses office than anything. There's a small cupboard across from the small bed, while in the four rows it held medicine and some roll of bandages. It's miniature room, decent size for a patient or a guest. But what Toki wanted to know was where is she?

She cautiously walks up to the door and opens it, peeking her head out and looking around. She takes a careful step out the door and stands in the hallway, wondering which direction to go first. With a shrug, Toki goes right and discovers herself in the living room of the house, and an entrance next to her lead to the kitchen. So she's at someone's house, but whose?

Toki walks back toward the way she had come from and passes the room she was in; before stopping at the foot of the stairs. She looks up at the staircase in thought, and then takes careful steps, holding onto the railing to support her weak legs. As she gets to the top, she turns to the right and walks down an empty hallway until a door came to her left. She stops in front of it and tilts her head in wonder as she reads the number 15 on it. Not knowing if she should or not, Toki stares at the door knob, almost as if wanting to open it with her mind.

Before she can stop herself, she feels the cool sensation of metal in her grasp, as she twists the knob silently and slowly. Toki stops as the knob twisted all the way it could, her mind was racing, what would she find behind the door?

_Just push it_, a little voice in her head whispers, _all you need to do is push the door slightly and peek in..._

Her eyes are met with a small light from the window as it casts shadows all over the room, except for the bed. Toki walks toward it stealthily, relieved that the lumpy figure in it seems to still be asleep. She stops mid-way and looks at the room; there was a desk to her right with a few papers scattered here and there. A closet was to the left, a few feet away and there was a bookcase in back of her. It looks like a normal boy's room.

Her attention is brought back to the boy in the bed and suddenly she feels unease and nervousness tie a knot in her stomach. Toki was never good with guys and she was not sure this stranger might like a weird girl that got injured mysteriously waking him up early in the morning.

With a sharp turn, she tries to make my way to the door, when her foot suddenly gets stuck on one of the pegs from the chair. She squeals as she feels herself fall over the chair, making a huge crash echo around the room.

"What the hell?!"

Her eyes widen as she hears the guy yell; only seeing his fast movement as he sat up from his bed. That voice...it can't be, she thought as a heavy blush comes to Toki's cheeks. There's just no way! Kami couldn't hate her so much…

But it seemed he did as she stares up at those familiar looking brown eyes she's come to love and it only made her red blush spread over her nose. But it confused her when she saw him stare at her with an equal crimson blush as he sharply turns away from Toki. Her eyes flicker up, since her legs were being supported by the wall as they dangled slightly, while half her back is on the floor, and feels heat rise from her neck up to her hair line.

Toki squeals again as she slides her legs to the side and sits up, making her underwear covered by the oversized shirt again. But as she looks down at the white shirt, and barely smells the faint scent from it, did she notice that this must belong to him. She blushes harder, if it was possible, and looks back up at him, locking her olive yellow eyes with his brown ones.

"Toki, when did you wake up?" He asks with shock etched into his features, rather than that trademark scowl he always wore.

The girl shyly twiddles with her fingers. "A few minutes ago…but I was curious so...I kind of explored your house. I-I didn't know this was your room Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo sighs as he stands up and picks up the fallen chair, putting it back in place. Then just as Toki was going to get up, she sees his hand in front of her face, making her blink a few times.

"Thank you," she says as she takes his hand and stands up, but then looks up at him, straining her neck to see his eyes. "Um, Kurosaki-san-"

"Ichigo," he suddenly comments, cutting her mid question.

She only blinks. "Uh, excuse me?"

"Call me Ichigo," he replies bluntly, "Kurosaki-san is getting on my nerves. Both you and Orihime have that habit of calling me by my last name."

"Oh, okay Kuro-Ichigo," Toki catches herself and nods. "Um...can you tell me what happened? I mean...how am I in your house?"

There was a short silence as he stares at the girl, then his eyes flicker toward the closet then back to Toki, but the motion was too quick for her to be sure he actually did it. Finally he sits back down on his bed and looks up at her, an emotion in his eyes that the young girl couldn't quite pinpoint.

"You tell me. I found you beaten up and bruised out by the park. I brought you back here and let my dad fix you up. You've been asleep for four days."

Toki's face slackens slightly as shock and confusion appear on her features. Unease and surprise settles in her stomach as it proceeds to tie into knots. Four days? That means its Monday morning. School should be starting soon, she notes in her head as she watches the digital clock on his nightstand. She glances back at Ichigo and bites her lip. Should she tell him about the monster? Would he believe her or label the girl as insane?

With a sigh Toki starts. "I couldn't sleep, so I took a walk. Some gang came up to me and beat me up for no reason. And yeah...you know the rest. I guess I passed out before you got there."

_Liar,_ that little voice sneers. She only pushes it to the back of her mind, as she lets a light smile come to her lips.

He stares at Toki for a second, deep in thought it seemed. The girl fidgets from the stare and glances back at the clock. "School should be starting soon."

Ichigo blinks and glances at the clock as well, then sighs as he runs his hand through his hair. He stands up and turns off the alarm that was sure to start beeping any minute. He then turns to the girl sitting on his floor.

"You can stay in my room if you'd like while I'm at school."

"Huh?" Toki responds stupidly. "Well I'm going to school too. I'm not going to miss out."

"You're staying here," he replies a bit sternly, "you barely woke up, and it's not safe if you get out. Especially with that gang out there, they might come back."

Toki gulps as guilt crawls through her throat, not permitting air to escape naturally. Of course he would believe her, what reason does he have not to? She should be happy that he did, relieved even, but she wasn't. She just feels the overwhelming remorse that she couldn't trust him enough to tell him the real story behind her attack. But the girl didn't want to risk losing one of the closest friends she's had since going to school.

The young girl sighs as she hangs her head in defeat. "Alright. I won't go. I'll just go so that you can change," she replies before making her way toward the door and opening it.

"There's a bathroom down the hall if you'd like to take a shower. My sister Yuzu should be waking up soon, so you can just go to her to see about loaning you some clothes."

"Thank you," Toki responds and smiles back at him as she nods her head and closes the door behind her. She lets out a breath she was holding and walks down the stairs, but stops as she sees a little girl with short brown hair coming out from the room she was in, panicked. But once she sees Toki she smiles brightly and comes to her happily.

"You're awake! I was almost starting to begin to think that you had left! Come on, I'll show you the bathroom and where the towels are so that you can take a shower. Then I'll bring over some clothes of ours. Hopefully they'll fit."

"Thank you so much," Toki responds, truly grateful as the little girl leads her back up the stairs. It touched her heart how these people could be so kind to her, and yet she was only a stranger to them. And as the young girl began to scrub herself, she starts to think what she can do meanwhile Ichigo is at school. Sure it bummed Toki out that he wouldn't let her go, but that didn't mean that she would actually stay and burden these people. They've done enough as it is. Toki then smiles as she knows exactly where to go after she gets her own clothes from her apartment.

She turns off the water and dries herself quickly, excited to see him again. He was the first friend Toki had when she woke up here in Karakura town. He was the one who had given her a place to stay.

Yes, she knew exactly where to go today.

* * *

><p>Ichigo sighs as he gets out of his house and begins his walk to school; a million thoughts floating around in his mind. He then glances to his left as Rukia joins him.<p>

"So the memory eraser worked, what now?"

"Nothing. We go as we were before. It's best if she doesn't remember the attack." She replies as she looks straight forward casually.

Ichigo looks back to the sidewalk stretching out in front of him as he begins to think back to what happened in his room. He didn't know how, but the look on Toki's face when she told him about how she had gotten beaten, it seemed fake. Like she remembered, but lied about it. He could understand why she would, he was in the same position as her. But what confused him is how did her memory not get replaced? Or how she could even see that hollow?

He glances back at Rukia and is surprised she's staring back at him in understanding. She's known all along.

"You've known that it didn't work on her haven't you?"

"Yes," she sighs, "How, I'm not sure. I was pretty sure that it would work."

"What now?"

"We wait and see if she'll tell us."

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><p>"Ah, Toki. To what do I owe this pleasure of seeing you?"<p>

Toki only smiles as she runs forward and hugs the man in front of her, then looks up at him.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see you since a friend of mine wouldn't let me go to school."

"Hmm. Something tells me there's a story behind that," the man smiles as he walks into the shop, a hand behind her back, "how bout you tell me over some tea?"

She only smiles as she nods her head and follows him into the small building. "Oh there's so much I need to tell you. A cup of tea sounds nice."

Toki and the man disappear as they slide the door closed and pass the store, then opening the entrance for the house. Toki walks forward and sits down on her usual spot on the floor as the man pours her a cup of tea. She takes the cup and brings it to her lips, sipping the tea happily.

"So before you tell me this interesting story, how have you been? It's been a while since you last visited."

Toki blushes a light pink as she stares down at her tea, thinking about a certain guy. "A lot has happened. I met new people and have made a couple friends."

The man notices her blush and grins. "Ah and one of those friends is a guy that you happen to like."

Toki looks up surprised as the blush spreads, she can only glare as the man laughs. "What's so funny?!"

"Nothing Toki. Nothing at all." The man grins wider as he stares at her, but then hides that goofy grin behind his fan. But as he does, his grin vanishes, leaving a grim frown on his face as his striped hat throws a shadow over his grey eyes.

_So...it seems it has begun._


	5. Nightmares

**Hello everyone! I want to per****sonally thank XxLollipopZangetsuxX and violentyetawesome for their reviews on the last chapter. n n I really do appreciate the support guys! :D I know this chapter is a bit short, but I felt not much more could be said at how sad this ends. xc Anyway, this is the fastest update so far. o.o World record! Haha, anyway, please continue to review it really does help me to get these out faster. :) I'll try to get the next one out, but since I plan to move out soon, this story is not on my priority list. But fear not! I will keep writing it. Anyhoo, enjoy!**_  
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><p><em>Swallowed up by the sound of my screaming,<em>

_Cannot cease for the fear of silent nights,_

_Oh how I long for the deep sleep dreaming,_

_The goddess of imaginary light._

-Evanescence-

Screaming echoes off the walls as a young girl wakes up with a jolt; screaming until the sobs broke through and fill the room. Almost immediately, Kisuke comes into the room and cradles Toki in his arms, as she clings to him like the frightened child she was. Only remembering the horrible images that filled her head; this time what she saw was nothingness. Toki was alone somewhere cold, damp and dark, chained by some sort of ties, as they literally drained her life away. She could feel her sanity go by with each day that passed, as each second she wanted to cut off her own hands just to get away from those leeches that they had tied to her hands and feet.

It had been happening for almost two weeks now. Ever since Toki came in contact with the hollow, she had been getting nightmares; nightmares that seemed way too vivid for her taste. For the first few days she stayed alone in her apartment, but after the third day she couldn't take it. Toki came back to Kisuke's shop and told him about the nightmares. He had only frowned and abruptly told her to pack some stuff and sleep with him until they ceased. They still went on, each one getting worse by the day.

Dark bags formed under her eyes, showing the lack of sleep she had been having. Once they got so horrible to the point where people would gasp as they saw them, Toki started to experiment with make-up; something she hardly ever wore. Watching tutorials online helped her to know just exactly how to use the foundation to hide the dark circles under her eyes. It took her a while to even apply it successfully, but she figured it'd be better than wearing sunglasses to school every day.

No one seemed to notice, with the exception of Ichigo and Rukia. They appeared so paranoid all of a sudden, staring at Toki from the corners of their eyes almost as if they were waiting for her to snap. Do they know? She doubted it, but then why were they always staring at her, as if they were anticipating something? Soon after, she began to forget about their stares and kept living her life as normally as she possibly could. Only it seemed weird to her how Rukia and Ichigo kept leaving the classroom at the same time constantly. Toki tried to brush it off like the others, but soon enough, she could feel the green-eyed monster creeping up inside of her.

She would watch them spend more and more time with each other as the days passed, even watched them when they whispered secretly to each other. It made the indescribable hate for Rukia grow and grow, like an overstuffed tick with blood just waiting to explode. Kisuke had only teased Toki about her crush on Ichigo, saying that she was too jealous for her own good. But she finally had the guts to explain to him the indefinable hatred she had toward Rukia; how Toki felt like she was taking everything away from her.

He had only pondered about it for a minute, but then waved it off, saying it was a teenage phase. Somehow Toki knew he was lying to her. Hating someone with this kind of resentment was not normal, especially if she's been feeling it ever since she first looked at her.

Even so, the days passed and the nightmares kept coming, but things got even weirder for the young girl. The wounds she had gotten from the hollow healed in less than 2 days, but the freakier part was that no scars remained. Toki had stared at her peachy skin for hours, trying to find at least one sign that showed she was badly wounded, but got nothing. Not only that, but one day as she was washing the dishes in the shop trying to help Ururu out, a plate slipped and fell toward the ground. She had cursed and waited to hear the loud crash as the plate would surely shatter into tiny pieces, but it never came. Toki's eyes had practically bugged out of her sockets as she stared at the plate that was frozen in mid-air.

The young girl had quickly passed her hand under it, hoping there was some invisible table or something that would explain this. But she had only touched air. Her hand had trembled as Toki grabbed the plate carefully and lifted it up, staring at the spot it had once been motionless in the air. She hasn't touched the dishes since; opting to sweep and clean instead. But it was apparent that no matter what she did around the house, it seemed as if things would just freeze, as if time had stopped only for them.

Sooner or later the fear stopped and fascination took over, as Toki watched as the items stopped whenever she seemed to will them too. She didn't want to think about her possibly controlling them; the girl always pushed the mere thought away. Just considering the fact that simple Toki could even have extraordinary powers as telekinesis or something was absurd. She made herself believe she was not in denial; she was simply just stating the truth is all.

Not only was this going on, but Toki didn't miss how lately Rukia seemed...depressed; distant if you would. She seemed out of it, no matter how much she smiled and said she was okay. If it weren't for the hate, Toki might have cared more than she actually did. God, she sounded like those haters that could care less what happens to a person. It's not like Toki wants to hate her. She just didn't know why she did; she hasn't even done anything to her...

"Earth to Toki!"

Toki's vision blurs before she sees a waving hand in front of her face, making her snap out of the tiny flashback of the past weeks events. She blushes lightly and looks up to be met with slightly worried coal eyes. The young girl smiles softly over at Tatsuki and scratches her cheek sheepishly.

"Eh...what were you saying Tatsuki-chan?"

Tatsuki only sighs irritated, as her hands rest on her small hips, eyeing the young girl warily. Surely questioning her sanity. "I asked what you were going to do for summer vacation. It's coming up soon."

Toki blinks. "Oh yeah...I had been so busy lately that I forgot that school was almost over." She looks up at Tatsuki and shrugs. "I'm not sure actually."

Before she knew it, eager conversations could be heard as everyone packed their things and excitedly walked out of the classroom as the final bell screeched loudly. Toki gets up and gathers her things, making her way to her locker and grabbing her bag. As she exits the school doors, she breathes in the fresh air, smelling faintly the scent of...pine was it? Almost instantly, Toki turns and spots Ichigo walking away toward his house, but something was wrong.

The young girl watches him curiously as he walks alone; there was no sight of Rukia and she could feel the happiness overwhelm her. Maybe they had gotten into an argument? But as that thought came to Toki's head she bites her lip. Surely not an argument...Rukia wasn't here. Toki, better than anyone, would know if she were because even if it were cruel to think, she felt better when she wasn't around.

But then her eyebrows knit together as Toki began trekking to Kisuke's shop, staring at the concrete floor in thought. She had also noticed how Ichigo had seemed to be in a bad mood, he hadn't even said a simple hello to her this morning. And it hurt the young girl badly.

Just as she passes an entrance to a small alleyway, Toki's breath hitches up her throat as a cold shiver runs down her spine. She clutches onto her stomach as it violently churns, just like it does whenever she sees or smells blood, but there was no sight of the gruesome liquid anywhere. She slowly turns her head and looks at it, examining everything to see if there was some reason for her sudden terror and worry.

Toki didn't find anything. This only made her bewilderment grow as she steps into the alley and walks all the way down, coming to an opening. A wall stretched on before her and she could see the small alignment of street lamps continue down the small path as each one seemed smaller than the one behind it. The girl gazes at everything around, trying to find some reason or evidence, for this place making her so uneasy.

She didn't find anything.

Toki only shakes her head and walks out, going back to her usual path to Kisuke's shop; only giving the alley one last glance before leaving.

* * *

><p><em>Go find him...he's in trouble...<em>

So many voices. Toki tosses and turns, trying hopelessly to escape her dream, but to no avail. Her eyebrows furrow as her forehead creases, small tiny beads of sweat rolling down her cheeks. Why does she feel so cold?

_Losing so much blood...find him..._

Her breaths come out in short choppy wisps as Toki's blanket gets tangled up on her body, constricting it. Walls close in on her...no space for her to breathe.

_Hurry...before it's too late..._

Too late? Too late for what?

_Enemies...hurting him...not much time left..._

Toki grunts in her sleep as she tries to make sense of the faint echo of the words. Who's he? Not much time left for what? What enemies? The girl whimpers slightly as her hair sticks to the back of her neck because of the perspiration, making her feel uncomfortable. She only turns to her side, relaxing instantly as the voice seems to have left her head, leaving Toki in pure blissful silence.

_HE'S DYING! HURRY!_

A loud gasp escapes her lips as she bolts upright, panting heavily as the girl stares wide-eyed at the wall; her heart pounding loudly in her ears. Without knowing why, Toki's body jerks up, sending her flying as she suddenly slides the door open and runs down the halls. She finally gets past the house and runs through the shop, not seeing the dark figures watching her as she runs franticly out the door. The girl's bare feet slap against the cold ground as her panting becomes heavier, her head pounding as all she hears is her hearts frenzied beating.

Toki can faintly feel the cold night wind biting her exposed legs and arms as she heads in a random direction, not knowing why or where she was going. All she knew was that she _needed _to get there.

Suddenly shock courses throughout her body as she sees where her feet are taking her. Seeing the familiar lamp posts pass by her, each getting smaller as Toki zooms past them. Her feet slow down, so that the slapping becomes small thuds, her breathing erratic as what's in front of her comes into view.

But just as the scene focuses in, Toki sucks in a breath as her body goes cold, feeling as if her blood froze inside my veins. Her heart beats become louder than ever as she stares shocked at the familiar crimson liquid. The girl's hand flies up to her mouth as tears prick her eyes, making her clutch onto the wall so that she wouldn't fall on her ass. Toki tries not to sob as she watches his orange hair matted on his forehead by the blood; watch as his back barely moves as he breathes. Her stomach clenches into a tight fist as her olive yellow eyes go wide, trying her best not to scream as the blood, all that blood, soaks his clothes and ground. Toki doesn't even notice the black robes he's wearing or the broken sword clutched in his hand. All she can focus on is the dreaded dark red blood coating his body, making it seem as if it wanted to consume him.

Then she saw her.

The young girl's tearful gaze flickers to the familiar dark violet eyes as she sees remorse and sadness in them. Her mind is too enclosed on shock and horror that she can't find it in herself to glare at the girl in front of her, knowing she had something to do with this. But that's when Toki notices that two people are beside her, two men to be exact. Her gaze goes to the first: red hair resembling a cherry as it's in a high ponytail, spiking up in the back as strange black tattoos cover his forehead, while he's wearing the same garments as Ichigo is. He only stares at Toki in slight shock and disbelief, but she ignores it and lets her eyes drift to the man on her other side.

Dark gray, emotionless eyes meet hers, as his black, long hair slightly moves with the breeze as he stares Toki down. A weird light blue hair piece adorns the top of his head, along with a very light greenish, elegant looking scarf wrapped around his neck, while he sports the same clothes as Ichigo and the red head. But the air around him screams power and superiority, making Toki's legs go weak as she falls to her knees.

Her body trembles as finally a lone tear rolls down her cheek, falling on the concrete floor as she stares at him and the red head. Soon after, more tears rush out of Toki's eyes and gather on her chin before falling down with the first. Her olive yellow eyes stare at them sadly with accusation and mystification in them, but it seemed her gaze only affected the red head and Rukia, the latter turning away from her stare.

"Why?" Came Toki's hoarse and saddened reply as her stare doesn't falter.

The red head gulped visibly, while Rukia turned away from her, giving Toki her back as she walks toward two old Japanese style doors, light pooling out of them. The dark haired man only stares at the girl impassively as she sobs louder, but he too turned his back on her as all three of them disappear as the doors close. The doors vanish and as if angels were crying with her, the clouds begin open to let a heavy down pour commence.

Toki desperately crawls over to Ichigo, gently turning him over to his back, and then laying his head onto her lap. Her tears fall on his face as she cradles his head in her arms, her shoulders shaking as the sobs come out. She lifts her head and barely sees through the rain, and tears, Uryu's body; the boy in her class. Toki only cries harder, trying to figure out why they would do this to them. Why?

The girl got no answer as she looks up and cries out to the heavens above her, as if they would give her the answers to all of this.


	6. The Truth

**AN: Okay so I know its been sooooo long since I updated. (Since October right?**) **I meant to have this out by Christmas, then Christmas came and left, and I wanted to bring it out New Years...yeah, didn't work out. I'm really sorry you guys, hopefully you can understand the life of adulthood is not an easy one. . Anyhoo, I want to give special thanks to XxChainsawChickxX for their review on my last chapter. Hopefully my slow updates don't discourage any of you to give up on this story because I sure won't! But yes, reviews much appreciated and hope you all enjoy. :)**_  
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><p><em>Like memories in cold decay<em>

_Transmissions echoing away_

_Far from the world of you and I_

_Where oceans bleed into the sky_

**-Linkin Park-**

Toki watches worriedly as Tessai works on Ichigo's wounds, practically wrapping up his whole upper body. Olive yellow eyes scan his face, biting her lip to stop the tears from overflowing again as she can still see his pained expression. Oh, how much she wished that she could go back, to stop that fight and never let him get hurt like this again. The girl didn't even know who did this to him; all Kisuke told her was that they came for Rukia and Ichigo had gotten in the way. How can someone do this to him?

Anger suddenly boils inside of the girl's veins as her eyes narrow into slits. She knew it was Rukia's fault. It's always her fault. She ruins everyone's life as soon as she first lays her eyes on you; trapping you in her doom. Toki's fists clench as she glares at the floor, her anger wracking her entire body and consuming every thought that she failed to notice Tessai look over to her in shock.

Just as a flash of some sort of scenery goes through her mind, the young girl feels a hand on her tense shoulder. Toki blinks and looks up over her shoulder, watching Kisuke as he looks down at her with concern. He gently squeezes her shoulder, getting rid of whatever anger she felt a few moments ago.

"Toki you're still dirty. Go take a shower, he isn't going anywhere," he says gently.

Toki's eyes flicker toward her hands and clothes, which were still stained crimson with Ichigo's blood. A grimace quickly passes through her face as she lets out a soft sigh, nodding her head a moment later.

"Yeah, I'll go right now," she mumbles lowly as she starts to walk toward the bathroom, but stops and stares at Tessai working on Ichigo once more. Toki's eyes soften for a moment before she looks away and walks toward the bathroom; locking the door behind her once she enters.

The girl quickly slides out of her dirty clothes and just as she's going to put them in the tub with her to clean, there's a soft knock at the door. A smile softly comes to her features and without a word, she goes behind the door and opens it slightly, handing Kisuke her clothes. Before she can close the door, he hands Toki a robe quickly and closes the door himself. A soft laugh escapes the girl as she sees her old robe; she can't believe he still has this. Toki places the robe on top of the toilet gently and gets in the shower; watching as the clear liquid quickly turned a dark pink from the blood. She swiftly scrubs her body with the scented body wash she had left here before, along with her pomegranate shampoo and conditioner. Once done, the young girl turns off the water and gets out, drying herself distractedly as she does. She quickly passes the towel through her short hair before grabbing the robe and slipping it on. Toki wastes no time to hurriedly make her way to the room that held the orange headed teen; even forgetting to change into clothes.

She quietly opens the door and looks inside, feeling relief wash over her seeing the serene expression on his face. Toki gently makes her way to the side of his bed and kneels by his head, softly running her hand through his orange locks. Hey eyes then quickly flicker to his bandages and she has to bite her lip to push back the tears. _Oh I'm being silly_, the girl thinks to herself as she stands up and stares down at him. Though a soft blush comes to her cheeks as she leans down and lets her lips touch his forehead tenderly. But just as the young girl goes to stand straight, she stops as her eyes flicker to his lips, which were slightly parted as he breathed.

Toki gently nibbles on her bottom lip, deciding if she should or not; was it even okay if she did? The mere thought of stealing a kiss nearly made her face flame up in embarrassment. A small grimace passes through her face as she scowls soon after. Was she really so desperate as to actually _steal_ a kiss? From her friend no less. With a sigh, Toki braces her hands on the bed, once again getting ready to straighten up from her hunched over position.

"Toki are you in here?"

The girl's eyes snap open as a squeak leaves her mouth in surprise and unceremoniously falls on her butt, blushing madly as Kisuke grins over at her. Toki's blush only darkens as Kisuke takes out his stupid fan and hides half his face.

_Would it really be such a bad idea if he woke up one morning to find his fan burning on the stove?_ Toki thinks darkly as she glares at the object of offense.

"My, my...what is this? Trying to steal a kiss while he's unconscious are we?" He teases, fanning himself gently as his eyebrows wiggle.

Toki's face turns beat red at his teasing, but with an eye roll she gets up and smooths out her robe. She gently plays with the strings and tries her best to act nonchalant as she headed out the door. The thought that she had been caught contemplating stealing a kiss was more mortifying knowing Kisuke was the one who saw her. Damn bastard would use it against her sometime in the future, she just knew it.

"No, there was just something on his lips and I was going to take it off," Toki replies hotly as she walks toward her own room, but of course the blonde haired man would have none of that.

"Is that what the kids call kissing nowadays? I'll be sure to remember that," he responds with a Cheshire like grin as he continues to fan himself.

The blush on the girl's face brightens as she walks faster toward her room, only hearing Kisuke's laugh fade as she closes the door. Toki lets out a frustrated groan and gently hits her forehead with her fist.

"Stupid...so stupid Toki," she mumbles to herself as she walks toward her futon and lies down. Her eyes flicker toward the ceiling, as thoughts mull over her head about why someone would go through all that trouble just to get Rukia. Not only that, but why go to such extremes trying to stop Ichigo? What they had done to him was plain cruel and insensitive. Though a shiver runs down her spine as a thought races through her mind, and quite frankly, it chilled her to the bone.

_Ichigo is one of the toughest guys I know, so whoever did this to him...must have been very powerful...,_ Toki's insides instantly churn at that thought, wondering just how powerful this mystery person must be to take down Ichigo so easily.

But before she knew it, the young girl had slipped into unconsciousness and let her mind play as images flash quickly in her dreams. Such vivid images though, they seemed so real that Toki was starting to believe she wasn't dreaming. It was as though she was looking at herself doing things, but at the same time experiencing everything that dream Toki did.

Dream Toki walks about this place that is so strange to her and unfamiliar, but to her dream-self, it was her home. Toki watches as she goes through halls, wearing the same exact robe Ichigo had only...different. Unlike Ichigo's and everyone else's in the dream, hers had no sleeves and the pants were shorts that stopped mid-thigh, along with a beautiful yellow bow that reached the back of her knees instead of the white one everyone had. But what caught Toki's attention was the exquisite katana tied to her left hip. It was unlike anything she had ever seen; it reached a little further down her left knee as the guard and grip were a magnificent silver, while the sheath itself was black with stunning silver lining as it painted intricate designs. Even though Toki couldn't see the blade, she knew it must radiate power whenever she unsheathed it.

The girl watches as dream Toki walks into an office and bows before a white haired man behind a desk, but just as she was going to open her mouth to speak, dream Toki screamed instead. The silver haired girl wakes with a jolt and sits up looking about her room, hearing a loud thud in the distance. She quickly stands up and runs to Ichigo's room, only to see him screaming at Tessai. Toki blinks and looks back at Kisuke who walks up behind her.

"Hat 'n' clogs?!" Ichigo yells out in surprise, but then sees Toki's small form and mutters even more confused. "Toki...?"

Said girl's smile grows as she runs over to Ichigo and hugs his bandaged form. "Oh Ichigo you're okay! I was so worried."

Ichigo seems shocked, but after a few seconds he pats her back and speaks softly, "Yeah, sorry about that. Wait, where's Uryu?"

Toki gently lets go of him and walks back to Kisuke's side, speaking up. "He said he'd be fine, that helping you was much more important."

Ichigo stares over at the silver haired teen, then at Kisuke who gently places a hand on her shoulder, making her turn around to face him. He smiles softly and motions to Tessai who was at the door, "Why don't you go help Tessai make some breakfast while I talk to Ichigo?"

Toki looks back to Ichigo and sees as his face changes slowly, as if the boy had just figured something out. She feels confusion go through her, but nods nonetheless as she walks out and goes with Tessai to the kitchen.

Ichigo watches as Toki leaves with an uncertain look on her face and closes the door. He then turns to Kisuke whose smile had gone to a grim frown.

"She doesn't know...does she?" Ichigo questions as he carefully moves, trying not to reopen his wounds.

Kisuke sighs and shakes his head, "No and it's best if it stays that way. It took me a while to calm her down and convince her that she had only been sleep walking when she encountered that hollow."

Ichigo looks at Kisuke and winces at the memory, but then frowns swiftly. "You never told me how you know her, or how she even healed so quickly the next day as if nothing happened."

Kisuke stood quietly before speaking, Ichigo couldn't tell if he was lying or telling the truth. "I housed her when she came last year. She had a case of amnesia and was roaming the streets, so I took her in. She's been with us since, until recently that I got her an apartment not too far from your house." Before Ichigo could question why, Kisuke went on, "Even you can notice how she has extremely high spiritual pressure; it's why hollows have been attracted to her. So I took precautions, but even now Toki's powers have been surfacing and I know she's noticed."

Ichigo frowns and crosses his arms, "Then why don't you tell her the truth? She has the right to know what she has."

But Kisuke only shakes his head and sighs. "Because Toki can be ignorant. She'd rather pretend nothing is going on and stay happy, than to accept the truth. Even now she's in denial about her powers. But that's beside the point here."

Ichigo notices the change of his tone and grows serious as well, knowing exactly what subject they were going to speak about. All he knew was that he was going to get Rukia back, no matter what cost.

* * *

><p>Days passed and Toki was happy to see that Ichigo would stay over, but wondered why he did and where he and Kisuke left to all day. She'd be with Tessai, Ururu and Jinta, either cleaning or making food while silently observing. What was even stranger still was when she saw Chad and Orihime come by for a few minutes before leaving with Yoruichi, their cat. How odd was that? She tried to ignore it as much as she could, but simply couldn't. Also she noticed her powers growing and at times she'd practice them, once accepting the fact that she was not indeed normal as she wanted to believe.<p>

Her control got better and she soon discovered she could also heal and make force fields, which were a beautiful, transparent silver. Her eagerness and curiosity got the best of her as the days went by and before she knew it, she had control over her powers. She would secretly get out the house and practice them, Kisuke and Ichigo much too busy with whatever they were doing to notice her leave continuously. But Toki would soon see what everything was about.

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><p>Toki's eyes slowly flutter open as she hears voices inside the house, all going down the hallway by her room quietly. She silently gets up from her futon and very slightly crack open the door, as she sees Orihime, Chad, Uryu and Ichigo going toward something on the ground with Kisuke and Yoruichi leading. Her eyebrows furrow as Kisuke opens up a door she didn't even know was on the floor, while the others either jump down (others as in Ichigo) or climb down the stairs before Kisuke went down himself and closes the latch.<p>

Curiosity spikes within her as she quietly gets out her room and opens up the latch, going down the stairs as silently as she could muster. After what seemed like hours, Toki's irritation with the seemingly never-ending stairs flares, making her jump down and gently land on her feet; before she runs over behind a boulder and stares in awe. Who knew this giant place was under the house?!

Her olive yellow eyes then move toward Ichigo and the others as Kisuke was standing by a big white box that appeared to be cracked, while the middle was hollow. Straining her ears, she could faintly hear them talking about a place called Soul Society and how Kisuke would be able to allow them to go inside the portal to go save Rukia; but only for a short amount of time. Toki's stomach turns at all that she's hearing, as her eyes land on Ichigo who's wearing that black robe, but with a giant sword behind his back. Her breath hitches in her throat as she recalls the black robe and sandals when that monster attacked her all those nights ago. Was it possible that it had been Ichigo this whole time?

The girl quickly shakes her head as it seems Kisuke was about to open up the supposed portal he had been talking about, but before he could, Toki finally had enough of simply watching. All this sudden information she was gathering must have been the reason for the strange occurrences the past weeks, she realized. They _had_ been hiding something from her after all. With sudden anger, she gets out of her hiding spot and walks toward them with determination; her gaze showing what she felt clearly. Confusion and betrayal.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Everyone quickly freezes before turning to look at Toki with wide and worried eyes. But out of the whole bunch, Ichigo and Kisuke seemed to be the ones with the guiltiest expressions as they share a look. The young girl stops a few feet from them, arms crossed and an intense glare settling upon her olive yellow eyes.

She was going to find out exactly what they've been hiding from her, especially Kisuke. Though the girl looks toward Ichigo, who has a determined and grim expression on his face as he moves forward slightly.

"I think it's time you found out the truth Toki."

Silence follows after his statement as Toki stares at him with wariness, letting her gaze slide along the rest of the people before her. Clear hesitation was in her eyes as her footing shifts in her muteness, though her eyes quickly steel over again as she had to remind herself that backing down now was not an option.

"Do tell," the girl drawls on, slight bitterness in her tone. Quite frankly, this whole situation made ugly emotions stir inside the pit of her stomach as an uncharacteristic scowl adorns her normally cheery face.

Her eyes easily take in the nervous clenching and unclenching of Ichigo's hands as he lets out a soft sigh before steeling himself to talk. "Rukia, and now me, we're soul reapers or death gods. She had given me her powers when my family was being attacked by a hollow, a spirit gone bad. The same thing that attacked you that night I saved you, but Rukia had apparently committed a crime from the place she lives in, the Soul Society. They came for her and took her back to execute her for giving me her powers, that's why Uryu and I got hurt. Over the past weeks I've been training with Urahara, while the others trained too, so that we can go and save Rukia."

Silence once again engulfs the group as Toki stares at Ichigo with blank eyes, not showing any indications that she even listened to his brief and vague explanation. Kisuke watches Toki seriously, all and any amusement gone from his face. While Chad and the others stare at her in anticipation, wondering just how she'd take this all in.

Her mouth slowly opens, "You're all insane."

Ichigo's brow twitches in irritation at her blunt response. "You..! You demand an answer only to call us all insane?! What the hell!"

"I asked for an explanation, not a fairytale," she huffs just as annoyed, indignation written all over her face.

"It's not a fairytale dammit! It's the damn truth!"

Toki's stubborn glare meets Ichigo's as Orihime looks at the friends bickering, feeling uneasiness settle into her stomach. Never in the few months that the busty teen knew the silver haired girl, had she seen her look this angered. It was a surprise to even Chad; Toki always wore a smile on her face while deciding to stay quiet during their lunch times together. She had seemed like the quiet and nice girl to everyone, that suddenly seeing this darker side of her brought shock to the high school teens.

"Fine, I believe you," the girl finally mutters defeated as her gaze flickers to the ground, "I can't really call you all insane considering the fact that for the past weeks I've been training my own newfound power..."

"I figured something like this would happen, considering how big your spiritual pressure seemed to be," Uryu finally speaks up as his index and middle fingers push up his glasses.

"You have powers too Toki-chan?" Orihime comments surprised as her gray eyes widen just a fraction.

Toki nods her head and nervously rocks on her heels, still refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "Yes, I found out about them a few days before Ichigo and Uryu were attacked."

Unseen by any of the teens, Yoruichi watches Kisuke slightly turn his back to them in her cat form. She knew better than to believe he wasn't interested or worried about Toki finding about her powers. The feline would also be a liar if she said she didn't care either. Neither of them knew whether something good would come from it, or if things would turn disastrous when her memories also surfaced.

"Then you'll come with us to save Rukia right Toki-chan?" Orihime once again states, clear hope and happiness reflecting in her eyes.

"No."

The busty girl reels back visibly in shock at the sudden coldness in Toki's eyes and tone. Even Uryu, Chad and Ichigo seemed to have gotten whiplash from the sudden ice that surrounded Toki's small form. The latter however, watches the silver haired girl with blank eyes as his emotions churned inside of him like a storm.

"B-But Toki-chan...Rukia is our friend," Orihime urges, "We have to save her!"

"Rukia is no friend of mine. So count me out."

Orihime once again flinches at the iciness in the girl's tone. She never knew Toki held such animosity toward the tinier soul reaper; then again the busty teen had failed to notice the slow changes in the girl in front of her.

Ichigo suddenly steps forward as Toki's words finally settle in, making everyone around him turn to look over at him. "So you mean to tell me that you don't care at all that Rukia is going to be killed?!"

Toki watches Ichigo's angered and confused expression, feeling slight guilt blossom in her heart, but her hatred for the Kuchiki girl over powered that easily. With a shake of her head she replies bluntly, "Not one bit."

"Why the hell not! Even if you don't like her, you can't possibly want her to get killed do you?!"

At this point, Yoruichi watches Kisuke begin to open the portal to lead them into Soul Society, blinking in slight confusion. Chad, Uryu and Orihime also notice the sudden shift in the air as a tear begins to open behind them. The only ones not to notice, however, were the two fighting teens.

"You told me the only reason why they want to execute her is because she broke a law in this Soul Society place, right? So it must mean she deserves her punishment for her crimes," states Toki as she gazes at Ichigo's disbelieving expression.

"If I may be so bold to interrupt," Kisuke suddenly pipes up, but is quickly ignored and drowned out by Ichigo's furious response.

"No she doesn't! This whole thing isn't fair and it's inhumane. How can you say things like this?!"

"Life isn't fair Ichigo," Toki softly mutters before scowling a second later. "She has to pay for the consequences of her actions."

"Ichigo, Toki, I can't have this open for so long-," The older man once again tries to step in, only to get ignored again.

The other three teens simply stood awkwardly as they witness Yoruichi's growing irritation at the bickering duo, while Kisuke seemed _too_ calm.

"Because of her "crimes" Rukia saved both me and my family! She doesn't deserve to die!"

"One good deed doesn't white out all the bad ones."

"Ichigo, Toki," Kisuke suddenly adds sternly, temporarily making the bickering teens stop and turn to him.

"Shut up Urahara!"

"Don't you see we're in the middle of something important?"

Though suddenly Kisuke appears behind the two teens and easily kicks them into the other three, causing gasps and yells of protest as they're forcibly thrown into the slowly closing hole. Yoruichi turns to Kisuke and tilts her black feline head.

"Are you sure about her going? You know what it might cause Kisuke."

"I know," is his only response.

The feline looks him over for a few more seconds before letting out a sigh. "I hope your decision is a good one," she replies before swiftly jumping into the portal just as it closed behind the cat.

Kisuke looks at the spot the tear in the air used to be and rests his hand on his hat, casting a shadow over half of his face as he replies to no one. "I hope so too."


	7. Icy Blue Eyes and A Silent Promise

**AN: Yosh, I am back with a new chapter! Sorry for the late update. _Again._ I won't deny that the main reason why this came out so late was because of laziness. I could blame writers block, but no. Mainly laziness since this is more of a filler chapter, bleh. Sorry if there isn't too much action here and too many references of the anime, I don't like those myself, but this is essential for the plot. Which, by the way, is right around the corner~ Anyhoo, thank you for those who reviewed and I hope this story doesn't come to bore you, if it does, let me know!  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Bleach, because if I did, Ichigo and Ulquiorra would be in my room right now.**

* * *

><p><em>I don't want to run from anything uncomfortable<em>

_I just want, no,_

_I just need this pain to end right here_

_**-Paramore-**_

* * *

><p>"It...It really caught up to us! The places that we've been through are collapsing!"<p>

_Rumble. Step. Step. Rumble._

Hearts racing and palms sweating, the teens try their best to run as fast as they can inside of the dark, ominous cave-like tunnel. Everything around them was beginning to collapse, true to Uryu's words as their four minutes Kisuke gave them was running out. Ahead of the group ran Yoruichi, their deep voiced cat and guide, followed by Ichigo and Chad. Behind those two ran a very disgruntled Toki, who by the way, was sadly still running in her purple slippers; and clad in only purple pajama capris with white lining, along with a white tank top that had a chibi purple penguin in the front. Just a ways beside her ran Orihime and Uryu, the latter looking behind him as they ran.

"If you have time to look back, why not run faster," calls back the feline, watching them from the corner of her eye. "If you get caught by the Kouryuu it's all over!"

As Toki ran, her face lost some of the dark anger she had been feeling before Kisuke kicked her into this mess. Although, now her scowl seemed like a pout as she curses the blonde man, wishing more than anything she could go back and strangle him.

_He's soooo dead when I get back home,_ she thinks to herself as she tries her hardest not to lose footing in the flimsy slippers.

However, she finally turns her head back in alarm as she hears the quincy let out a surprised yell. The poor boy was being held back by his cape by a dark purple fog and Toki couldn't help, but to sweatdrop at the situation.

"Idiot! I knew that weird outfit of yours was going to cause trouble!" Ichigo snaps back at Ishida as he reaches behind him to grab his zanpakuto.

"Hold on!" Ichigo pauses and glances over to the cat in slight surprise. "Don't use your sword! Kouryuu will trap souls! If you use your zanpakuto, you will not be able to escape!"

Apprehension washes over the orange headed male as he grits his teeth, frustration close to overwhelming him. "Then what the hell am I supposed to...!"  
>Before he could finish his sentence, he watches in surprise as Chad easily rips off Uryu's cape, freeing him instantly from his captor. "Ah, thanks Cha- hey!"<p>

The huge dark male doesn't even let the lankier boy finish as he picks him up and throws him over his shoulder, continuing to run by Ichigo's side. Said soul reaper looks over at his two comrades with a sweatdrop, idly mulling over in his mind how ridiculous it all looked. Toki blinks and looks up at Uryu, while he glances down at her, his expression easily saying 'Don't you dare comment.' The petite girl lets a slight wolfish grin slide onto her lips, her irritated expression lighting up for that single moment. All the quincy could do was narrow his eyes in annoyance at her expression, this was anything, but amusing to him.

"Put me down Chad! I am capable of running by myself!" Ishida bellows out, not being able to look anymore at Toki's amused grin. "Put me..," however his protests die out as his eyes widen slightly behind his glasses, seeing something in the distance. "W-Wait, guys, look...seems like something is coming...!"

At this Yoruichi glances back and grunts in mild worry, knowing perfectly well what was barreling toward them at an alarming speed. Ichigo, Chad, Toki and Orihime also look back and can only let out startled gasps as a huge dark blob with a bright light atop zooms behind them. The silver haired girl feels the color drain from her face, knowing somehow that if this thing were to catch them, they would be deleted from existence. Something she isn't keenly looking forward to really.

"What the hell is that?!" Ichigo tries his best not to let the fast approaching _thing_ make his running slow down, even slightly.

"That's Seimichio! The "janitor" that comes out every 7 days to clean out...it's only our bad luck that today we chose to pass by," the black feline responds, feeling slight worry churn the pit of her stomach.

"In any case, we need to hurry! That thing is catching up to us quickly," Toki pipes up as she moves her gaze back forward, not wanting to stare back in case the fear made her trip. Now is not the time for her to become a klutz.

"We're not going to make it!" Gasps out Uryu, who was still forced to watch Seimichio approaching close each second, he swore he could feel it nearly touch him.

Just as it seemed like they wouldn't make it, Toki glances over to the busty girl beside her as she suddenly twists her body around. Her olive yellow eyes widen as she realizes what Orihime is planning to do. Something in the pit of her stomach let the petite girl know that this could easily turn disastrous.

"Orihime, wait-!"

Ignoring Toki's protests, the female continues. "Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily! Santen Kesshun...I reject!"

Just as the cleaner slams into the light orange shield, a huge explosion ensues, followed by a blinding light as everyone is forcefully pushed out the exit. Yells of panic ring powerfully in Toki's ears as she stares wide-eyed at the fast approaching earth; too in shock to scream with the rest of her companions. Though she lets out a grunt of pain as she collides with someone's body on her way down and smashes into the ground with them. At least whoever she landed on broke her fall, she thought in dry humor.

As the plumes of dust settled, groans and grunts of discomfort rise into the still air; all the while Orihime sits up and looks around her to watch her friends. "Uh...hey is everyone alright?" She comments in her cheery tone.

Toki opens her eyes slowly as she blows some hair out of her face, grumbling about how she didn't even want to come along. While Yoruichi was sprawled over the shield, Uryu lying down with his butt in the air, Chad seeming to be crouching and Ichigo lying on his back with his lower body curled over so that his feet brushed the ground. However, Toki somehow managed to land right in-between the strawberry's body, so that her legs were protruding on his left while her upper body came out from his right; her stomach lightly covering part of Ichigo's face.

Orihime lets out a small squeal of delight as she crouches over by them, clapping her hands. "Wua! Ichigo, Toki, the way you guys landed showed tremendous, artistic flare!"

Said male only grunts in embarrassment at their position and grumbles, "Gee, thanks a lot."

Toki finally seems to realize just who she landed on as she feels his voice muffled slightly by her stomach, blushing madly as she scrambles out of his pretzel body. "I'm so sorry Ichigo!"

Managing to unfold himself, the brown eyed male rubs his head as he glances over at his friend, noting also that she came in her sleeping wear. "Don't worry about it...I think you lost a shoe."

Olive yellow eyes stare back as she blinks, then looks around franticly for her slipper. Toki would hate to have to walk around with only one shoe, or even barefoot. "A-Ah! Oh no!"

Uryu grunts softly as he straightens up. "I knew it'd be rough getting through that gate, but I had no idea it'd take such a toll on my equipment." Suddenly, much to Chad and Ichigo's dismay, the quincy boy pulls out an extra cape. "I wasn't expecting to have to use my spare cape so soon."

"Aw man! Don't tell me he brought a change of clothes..," comments the strawberry in disbelief as Chad silently agrees on their friend's obnoxious behavior with his wardrobe.

Just as Toki locates her slipper, she sighs in relief and steps into it, content with not having to run around with only one. Though the sudden sound of a soft smack makes her eyes flicker over to a distressed Orihime, who was being scolded by Yoruichi. The young girl could only agree with the cat in her mind as she nods her head absentmindedly. Although, a sudden thought occurs to her, making her eyes widen as the conversation between the feline and Ichigo fades out of her hearing.

"Oh my god!"

Everyone turns to the silver head in alarm at her sudden shout as she points a shaking finger at Yoruichi. "You're talking! Cats don't talk!"

Said cat sweatdrops, along with the others (the exception being Orihime), wondering why it took so long for her to realize it. Chad pats her head, silently beseeching her to keep calm.

"You're telling me that after all that time of hearing him talk, you just now realized it?"

Toki feels her cheeks flame up as she crosses her arms and avoids Ichigo's stare as she fumbles with her shirt. "I was too busy running for my life to have deemed it important, thank you very much."

Ichigo feels his lips twitch in amusement as he watches her, glad that coldness she had before they came here was gone. Seeing her as her shy and nervous self was like a breath of fresh air for him, yet he knew that she wasn't like Orihime whose kindness knew no bounds. The male knew better. Toki had a little feisty side to her as he had witnessed and it brought a surprising relief to know she wouldn't be completely helpless here in the Soul Society. Still...she was thrown into this without her consent, was she really okay with that?

"Hey, are you alright with being here Toki?"

At his question, the others also glance over to the girl who kept her eyes on the ground; her body stiffening in the slightest. It should have been clear from her reaction at Kisuke's shop: she didn't want to be here. Showing just how little she cared if the young Kuchiki was to be killed.

"No, I'm not," she finally responds bluntly as her eyes stay trained on the ground. "I'm angry beyond belief that Kisuke dared to even force me to come here, despite knowing I didn't want to...but," a sigh escapes her lips as she lifts her head to lock gazes with the soul reaper's, "I'm here now whether I like it or not and even though I don't care if Rukia is executed, I can't stand back and watch all of you get hurt. I...I'll fight with you Ichigo, because I'd never forgive myself if you were to get injured knowing I could have helped."

All is quiet as Ichigo's eyes widen a fraction at her saddened gaze, but they quickly soften as he sets a hand on her head, looking down at her with an affectionate smirk. "Thank you, Toki."

Orihime watches as the petite girl blushes a soft pink and glances up at Ichigo with a kind smile, feeling her heart constrict in small jealousy. The busty teen can only smile sadly as she sees Ichigo stare at Toki with a certain softness in his eyes that he never showed to her. The young girl would be a liar if she said that watching this little scene didn't hurt her.

"Sorry to interrupt, but this place is awfully quiet," Uryu suddenly comments as everyone observes with him.

Toki finally looks around the place and feels a small throb go through her mind, making her teeth clench slightly at the diminutive pain. Why of all times did she have to form a headache? And why did this place seem so eerily familiar? Lost in her thoughts, the silver haired girl misses out in the explanation Yoruichi was giving out about Rukongai and the Seireitei. Although, the group around her failed to catch on to the blankness her eyes suddenly gathered, too engrossed with the fact that the place seemed to be deserted.

_Why do I feel like this? This place..., _thoughts array even in her mind, Toki stood motionless by Ichigo. However, when a crash echoes about Rukongai the girl jumps startled and looks up in shock to see that the carrot-top was no longer by her side; but standing in front of a _massive_ man with an axe. While a large wall that was not there before, fell from the skies.

Eyes widening in shock, Toki can feel a small sliver of dread bloom in her chest as it slowly spread along her veins. Although the fear was minimal, it was still infested in her like a poison; not worrying in the slightest about the huge man, but what attention might have been stirred behind that great wall. A noiseless sound began ringing in her ears as the voices of her friends were drowned out once again, allowing her mind to play some more with the dizzying images that were veiled. However, the moment was short-lived as her eyes focus once more to realize Orihime and Chad were foolishly running to aid Ichigo. She didn't have the slightest clue as to why she felt this way, but she knew that their help would only be hindrances to the carrot-top.

Just as Jidanbou raises his axe to connect to the earth in front of the two teens, Toki raises an arm as her eyes glow slightly and before the two knew it, they were suddenly back within the group. In good time too, she notices with dry amusement, for the ground they had previously stood on, was now raised to form a blotched wall to cover them from the fight.

"Wha-...how did we end up back here?" Cries out Orihime in surprise, looking around her, as if to find the answer among the air.

Uryu, Chad and Yoruichi turn to the silver haired girl as she lowers her arm back to her side, olive yellow eyes losing the silver glow to them. Toki meets their gaze and lets out a sheepish smile come to decorate her face, only responding with a roll of her shoulders. Her powers were still a mystery to even her; there wasn't a good explanation of them to tell the others.

"Leave this fight to Ichigo you guys," mumbles the petite girl softly as her eyes flicker back to the haphazard wall the giant created. "He doesn't need help."

Where did this confidence in Ichigo come from?

"Are you insane?! He can't fight that giant man to himself!" Uryu stares at her as if she had just sprouted feathers and was doing the chicken dance. "We need to help him; otherwise we will never be able to go through."

"Yeah, Ichigo needs our help Toki," with a determined nod, Orihime rests her fist close to her chest.

Before Toki could respond, everyone turns their heads back to the fight as Ichigo's voice rings out loud and clear. "Toki's right. Don't worry about me you guys, I'll be fine. Hat 'n' Clogs wasn't teaching me any petty stuff for those days. My strength and stamina have increased more than before."

Just as Uryu leaned forward to no doubt throw Ichigo a belittling comment, he turns around to glance down at the hand placed on his shoulder. Toki tilts her head to look up at him and lets a soft smile grace her features; that was all it took to silence the protests of the others. For whatever reason, Toki's confidence in the soul reaper spread to the others as well, if only slightly. With a nod of her head, the girl silently crosses her arms across her chest and watches in anticipation as the fight began.

Although, it wasn't much of a fight considering that each strike given with the mighty axe, Ichigo easily deflected each one without trouble. Even when the giant brought out a second axe, the orange headed teen aloofly destroyed both with a single blow; causing an explosion to sound about. Debris and chunks of rock flew everywhere; however, a silver, translucent half sphere quickly surrounds the group, protecting anything coming their way. Once again, eyes glance over to Toki for a fleeting moment, knowing she was the one for their protection. She didn't meet their gazes though, too focused in keeping the shield embracing the group; however, she felt her power stir in annoyance.

With confusion, Toki's eyes quickly flicker over to see why the power within her nearly recoiled from revulsion. And the answer was only all the more confusing. Orihime had raised her own small triangle of a shield, the color a light shade of orange; like her hair. Although, as soon as Orihime's shield vanished back into her pins, the petite girl's power hummed in minimal satisfaction before it vanished as well.

_What the hell was that?_

Once again, the silver head's attention is stolen from her thoughts as a bellowing cry follows after a stiff silence; the wails literally almost made her fall to the ground. The giant man was crying over the loss of his axes, while Ichigo stands by dumbfounded by Jidanbou's behavior. Everyone got sweat drops as the tantrum continued; nevertheless, Ichigo awkwardly began trying to console the giant. Toki couldn't suppress the giggle that erupted from her at the scene; Ichigo was just a huge softy who couldn't handle people crying. But even with the amusing sight before her, the girl suddenly felt a shiver pass through her, almost as if in warning. Olive yellow eyes flicker everywhere in the broken space before them, ignoring whatever it was that Jidanbou was telling Ichigo; however, her eyes land on the entrance of the gate. That familiar gnawing in the pit of her stomach began once more. Something was waiting for them beyond the gate; it nearly made her want to tell everyone to turn back.

"So you're really going to let all of us through?"

"That's right; I was decisively defeated in battle by your leader. As a result, I have no right to stop anyone in your group."

"What?! Whoever said anything about Ichigo being our leader! Absolutely not!"

The petite female for a moment forgets about her wariness as she turns to Uryu, and blinks. His outburst made her lips twitch in amusement. "I didn't see you defeat a giant with one blow."

Ohhhh…if looks could kill. But Toki could only let out a laugh at Uryu's deadly glare, while Ichigo lets a grin adorn his face. The girl only blushes at the expression directed at her and swiftly turns back to face Jidanbou.

"So your name is Ichigo, eh spikey head?"

Ichigo also looks back to the giant at his inquiry. "That's right. My name is Ichigo Kurosaki."

"That's a pretty cute name for someone who seems to take themselves seriously, don't you think?"

That did it. Toki practically began rolling on the floor from the force of her laughter, earning a glare from a not-so-amused Ichigo. Tears began to leak out her eyes as she pounds the floor with her fist gently, her body quivering with her mirth. "W-We usually call h-him strawberry-chan! Pfffcchhh."

Ichigo's cheeks turn a bright red while he shakes a fist. "You do not! My name isn't cute! Ichi means number one, and Go stands for guardian! And that's what I am!"

"Number one guardian of the berries," came her strangled mutter as she tries her best to control the giggles seeping out.

"Am not! Whose side are you on?!"

The embarrassed carrot-top indignantly decided to ignore Toki; who hadn't bothered answering him as her fit of giggles stretched on. He started wishing that she still had that frown from earlier plastered on her face. At least then she didn't make fun of his name. However, the mirth that had quickly consumed the silver headed girl left just as quickly as the giant began opening the gate. The aura coming towards them as he did, had her knees buckling and her eyes slowly getting wider each passing second. Why did no one else notice the crazy power on legs walking leisurely toward them?!

Her legs began to take her forward on their own, her brain still too shell shocked to process just what it was that her body decided to do. As she stood by Jidanbou, she noticed that he too, stood frozen much like she is now. Her olive yellow eyes were now as wide as they could go, her pupil shrinking from the strange fear that gripped her high. She didn't know this man, yet her body screamed for her to take action and attack, although all she wanted to do was run and hide.

"Toki? Jidanbou? Hey, why are both of you frozen like that?" Ichigo's concern was not missed out by anyone, as the rest of the group also tried to look on from behind the giant and petite girl. Then the brown-eyed male saw him. "Who is that?"

The giant can only stare on with something akin to horror in his eyes; his whole body began to shake from under the massive door. "That's none other than the captain of squad 3...Gin Ichimaru."

Toki's face was a mixture between fear and unknown resentment, as she stares at the face of the man known as Gin Ichimaru. His eyes were closed, while his smile stretches out across his face; it vaguely reminded her of the fabled Cheshire cat. That feeling was still there though; that feeling of familiarity. It was the same she had when she saw Ichigo and Rukia; just what the hell was it?

"Ah...this is not good."

Before anyone could react, the soft whistle of a blade slicing through the air is heard, following after the sound of flesh ripping apart. Eyes widen as crimson liquid sprays out of Jidanbou's injury; his arm barely hanging on right after. Toki's eyes were wide as could be with horror at the scene slowly unfolding in front of her very eyes. Her knees begin to buckle as her heart picks up speed with her fear, along with her resentment. She barely registers the giant falling to his knee while the gate was being supported on his shoulders now, as his groans of pain increase.

"Unacceptable," mutters the fox-smile male, his closed eyes somehow surveying the scene before him. "Being the guardian of the gate doesn't mean you're supposed to open the gate."

Although his eyes were closed, the petite girl could have sworn that Ichimaru was now focusing on her; the feeling of being watched was making her quiver. However, the feeling left just as quickly as he continued to converse with Jidanbou, who by now looked ready to faint. Images of a forest in the dark of the night and screams of pain rush pass Toki's mind in a dizzying array of colors. Why did this keep happening? She knew that coming to this place was going to be bad; she had known from the very start.

Suddenly the clash of metal screeching into the air caught her attention, only for her stomach to clench and drop immediately. Ichigo had his massive zanpakuto pressed against the silver-headed captain's. Just what on earth is he doing! Without letting her mind process a thought, Toki's body surges forward to pull Ichigo back by the back of his shirt; while her left hand pushes toward Gin. With a flash of silver light Gin is pushed back a couple of feet, his astonishment barely concealed at the sudden attack. Ichigo is stunned in place as his eyes glance down to the small girl before him, not missing how her body trembled as her tiny hand now clutched onto his sleeve with such force her knuckles were turning white.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?!"

Silence hung the air, everyone too shocked to even move. Everything had happened in a mere few seconds. Although the substitute shinigami was first to respond. "What was _I_ thinking? What were you thinking?! Toki I could have handled this, you didn't need to come in and pull me away!"

"You idiot," the sudden drop of volume in her voice stopped Ichigo from saying more. "Haven't you sensed it? His power is far out of your reach. He'd kill you in less than a minute."

"Ah, you must be Ichigo Kurosaki. All the more reason why I can't let you pass."

Said male quickly turns his attention back to the captain, surprise and confusion set upon his scowling face. "You know about me? How could you?" However, with Gin suddenly walking away, Ichigo felt anger fuel through his body as he steps forward. "Hey! Where are you going?!"

_Oh no,_ came Toki's frightened thought as she felt the power accumulating quickly. How the carrot-top she still held onto didn't feel this, was beyond her. He even had the audacity to continue to converse with the third squad captain, while she felt the tension in the air stiffen.

"Impale them, Shinzo!"

A loud gasp escapes the petite girl's lips as she stares at the zanpakuto quickly stretch toward them swiftly. Once again, everything seemed to slow down in her mind as the echo of screams once again reached her ears. She knew those screams were not of the present, but from a past she knew not of, as far as she knew. Then that Cheshire smile passed by her mind's eyes.

_What..._

Reality came crashing down on her with startling clarity as she heard Ichigo's shout of surprise, and her name being called out by Yoruichi. Just as her vision cleared, her silver barrier began to materialize in front of Ichigo and herself, but it wasn't quick enough. A soft pained gasp escapes her again as she feels the blade slide against the skin on her right side, while her pajama shirt rips. The force of the sheer power behind the attack pushes the two back and onto Jidanbou, effectively forcing all three of them past the gate and onto the street.

The great door begins to quickly descend as Gin only smiles, bending down slightly as he waves at them mockingly. Although, as Toki opens her eyes they speedily lock with Ichimaru's; her body going cold as she sees a flash of icy blue before the gate completely closed.

_Those eyes...I-I've seen them before!_

"Ichigo, Toki are you alright?"

Amidst the whole fray, the young male had managed to catch Toki's small frame into his arms; and even now he rubs his head while opening his eyes to glance down at the girl between his legs. The pajama clad female could only stare off into the distance, seeming to watch through the wall at the captain she knew lay behind. Those icy orbs…she knew she had seen them before. They were too startling to have been forgotten so easily.

_But...from where..?_

"Toki, you're bleeding!"

Shaking her head, the girl blinks as she glances down to her bleeding side; wincing as she now registers the pain. It was shallow though, but even then it could turn into a thorn in her side if left untreated.

"Here, I'll heal you!"

The word left her mouth before she could stop. "No!"

Orihime stares at her friend in confusion and slight worry; she had barely finished her sentence when Toki quickly objected. "B-But Toki-chan, you're injured!"

With all eyes on her form now, a small blush is quick to tint her cheeks slightly, though she makes a small smile come to her lips to reassure the busty female. "I'm fine, honest. Besides, you should reserve your strength to heal Jidanbou."

"But-," before Orihime could finish, she stops and stares in amazement as Toki places her hand on the wound; watching as that silver light came forth. Just as quick as it came, it was gone; along with the injury. The only remnant that even indicated that the petite girl was injured was the tear in her shirt.

"It's gone," mutters Uryu in slight wonder. "Is it possible that your powers are the same as Orihime's?"

There it is. That indescribable disgust her powers sent through her soul. Her face scrunches in confusion at herself; why did that feeling always return every time Orihime's power came in contact with hers? Was it possible that they indeed have similar powers; therefore they reacted negatively to one another? Almost as if both were magnets fruitlessly trying to connect. But before she could answer, curious murmurs begin to fill the silent air all around them.

Toki stands up with the help of Ichigo and looks before her in slight wonder; people began to file out of the once quiet houses to observe the scene before them.

"Well look at what we have here," comments Ichigo as he shoulders his large sword, slightly leaning on his right foot.

"They must have been hiding until now," Uryu mutters as his blue eyes flicker behind his glasses between all the new faces.

"But why?" Questions Orihime as she stands with her hands behind her back. Chad simply stood by quietly as he had been doing throughout the whole ordeal.

The feline also looks around the forming group. "Obviously, we were frightening to them."

* * *

><p>Introductions, reunions and healing of arms later, Toki still couldn't stop replaying that flash of blue of Gin's eyes before the gate had slammed closed. With a soft sigh she looks ahead and watches as the sun slowly sets behind the white gates that lead to the Seireitei. Her olive yellow eyes narrow as a soft frown adorns her face.<p>

_I know I'm not imagining things...are those really memories I'm having? But...it's all so confusing. I'm human right? And I know I haven't died, so then what is this feeling?_

A growl of frustration hums in her throat as she clutches her hair in desperation at her lack of memories. "This is so troublesome!"

"What is?"

A gasp replaces her growl as she grabs onto the shingles of the roof, trying to balance herself as her eyes look over to Ichigo, who was now sitting himself beside her. "I-Ichigo don't do that! You shouldn't sneak up on me like that!"

"I'm sorry."

Her embarrassment quickly fades as his sudden proclamation surprises her into silence. Her olive yellow eyes regard the boy beside her in confusion as she turns her head to face him, but his own was straight ahead; she could only guess he was staring at the gates as she was before.

"Sorry for what?"

"For letting you get hurt," he replies as he finally turns to face her, his features locked onto his usual scowl, but with guilt easily stitching into it. "It's my fault that you ended up getting hurt by that bastard."

"Ichigo," Toki mutters gently as her eyes soften at his concern, "don't blame yourself. I'm fine aren't I? I'm not hurt anymore, so you don't have to reprimand yourself because of that."

"Still, Yoruichi was right. I shouldn't have just rushed in like that," at this his teeth lightly grit together, his gaze once more at the horizon. "I wasn't thinking and in the end you were hurt because of it."

The girl felt as if her heart would soar out her chest any moment; his concern and guilt for her well-being was doing funny things to her. It made her feel stupid, his concern was only normal for a friend, right?

"Ichigo, it does no good punishing yourself for something that already happened," a smile suddenly lights up her face as she places a reassuring hand on his arm. "Besides, apologize to me after we return home because I'm sure your impulsive nature will end up rearing its head throughout this whole ordeal."

"Hey!"

Ichigo's indignation washes away as his eyes soften, watching Toki close her eyes in her laughter. Remembering her getting in front of him to block the earlier attack stuck in his mind, along with the evident fear in her eyes during the whole situation. She shouldn't have gotten hurt, but she did and it's something Ichigo wouldn't let himself forget soon. As he looks forward once more, he recalls her promise to protect him despite her being forced into this, but it only makes him scowl.

From now on, he made his own promise to protect her as much as he could as well. He'd be damned if he let Toki get injured again because of him.


	8. Suspicions and Answers

**Okay so you all probably want to kill me right about now and before you do that, I want to say I'm soooo sorry! I know I keep saying that I'm going to try and get these out faster, but it's just not happening. About 3 months ago or so, I got into a car accident so I've been dealing with insurances, lawyers and just a load of bull crap because a guy decided to run a red light. I've tried to write a paragraph or so every other day at least and now I finally finished this chapter. I refuse to let this story die!  
><strong>

**Uryu: You should just let it die. It's not that great of a story.**

**You're just saying that because you're not the main focus and Ichigo is...asshole.**

**Uryu: *Glares over at me.* I would never be jealous of that idiot. He has nothing to be jealous of.**

**Ichigo: Hey! Don't talk about me as if I'm not here!**

**...*Face palms* Anyhoo, disclaimer yada yada. On with the story!**

* * *

><p><em>You see things; and you say, "Why?"<em>

_But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?"_

**-George Bernard Shaw-**

* * *

><p><em> I know you...I know I do. Those thick eyebrows, that ridiculous boar with a pink bow wrapped around it. But why does seeing you...hurt me?<em>

"Would someone explain to me why there's a stinking soul reaper here?"

"What did you just say?"

_That hatred that runs deep for shinigami...it's so familiar._

"What's the matter? Your ears not working?" With fake pity in his eyes, Toki watches the strange man lift a hand to pat Ichigo's cheek with confusion and wariness. "What I said was will someone explain to me why there's a stinking soul reaper here?"

_Oh no, don't go and do that,_ the petite girl feels a sweat drop forming as the man continued staring at the orange head; his hand stopped its patting for the moment. All was quiet as the silver headed girl can practically count the remaining seconds the man had before Ichigo would explode.

Making another ridiculous face, the unnamed man grabs Ichigo's chin and proceeds to ignore the growing tick mark on his temple. "Well then, say something! You sniveling dandelion!"

_And here it comes..._

**SMACK!**

_I warned you._

While the other three held shock at seeing the man fly by them due to Ichigo's punch, Toki watches on with a curious expression on her face. Her arms were once again crossed beneath her breasts as she stares contemplative over at the shouting man. The feeling of knowing him as well was beginning to grate on her nerves.

"What should we do about this? We got to stop those two."

Olive yellow eyes flicker briefly over to a worried Orihime, before glancing back to the two shouting males just a few feet away. This didn't even alert the small girl of any danger; just mere stupidity. It was almost amusing to watch, were it not for the fact that her brain was threatening to split itself in half from trying to bring forth memories. The fact that even Uryu decided to begin his own shouting made Toki's slowly forming headache even worse. Was so much noise really necessary?

"Are you kidding me? You really don't know who I am?"

"No I don't." Uryu.

"Me neither." Orihime.

"No." Chad.

"I don't wanna know." And of course, Ichigo.

In this small exchange, Toki remains silent as she stays in the back of the group and continues to stare at the ragged male sitting before them. Being as it may, he couldn't even see the small girl lounging in the back with Yoruichi; though the feline didn't doubt that sooner or later he'd notice, and very well remember. What was to happen when that moment came was something the cat didn't want to dwell on.

"Let me introduce myself. My given name is Ganju."

_Ganju...,_ unintentionally Toki ignores the now named man's speech; mainly because she felt as if she's heard it many times before. The only word she couldn't escape from the whole thing was "self-proclaimed." _Why do you sound so familiar to me? _

"Ichigo!"

Startled out of her reverie by Orihime's call, the small girl looks up and blinks; noticing how Ichigo and the man Ganju were no longer in the small house. Instead they were tumbling about outside the dark night, while a small gang of his friends it seemed, were blocking the exit. Without much of a choice, Toki watches on with the others as Ganju unsheathed a small blade; while Chad quickly throws Ichigo's zanpakuto over to him. Although, for whatever reason, the girl observes the ground as Ganju's foot makes a small circle below Ichigo's sword.

_Something is off,_ she notes with a frown and sure enough, the blade began to sink into the spot where the man had drawn the circle.

However, even without his sword, the young soul reaper still managed to punch Ganju once more, effectively pushing him away. But with that one small punch both males forgot about their weapons and engaged in hand to hand combat. Placing a hand on the door frame to steady her, Toki uses her other hand to hold her forehead as the headache suddenly returned with a vengeance; she could even feel it pulsing gently. With each smack of skin she heard, the pain only intensified until the battle outside began to fade; and the veiled image of that man in her dreams begins to clear. A soft pained gasp escapes her lips as her grip on the frame tightens, though no one notices her distress, all except for the feline below her.

Beads of sweat gently begin to gather around her forehead as the image was nearly unveiled, but suddenly it vanishes as the screeching of an alarm shakes her into awareness. Toki lifts her head only to see the panicking faces of Ganju's henchman, while the male himself whistles for "Bonnie" to come to him. With renown amusement, the silver headed female watches as Ganju is thrown around by his boar, before all of his henchman follow suit; trampling poor Ichigo into the ground.

Yoruichi watches curiously as the girl beside her seems to forget about the pain she was experiencing, and runs over to help a pissed off Ichigo up to his feet. _How strange..._

"Hey, you alright there?"

Ignoring everyone's inquiries, even the petite girl's question, the carrot top finally explodes. "I'm going to kill that guy as soon as I find out who he is!"

After much persuading, Toki finally manages to calm down Ichigo enough to lead him back inside of the small home of the old man. Though as she's the last one to enter, she lingers by the door as she gazes out into the empty street where Ganju had ridden off too. With a soft sigh, the girl gently slides the door closed and gets ready for the night. All thoughts of the black haired man from her dreams shoved to the deepest parts of her mind.

* * *

><p><em>Shiba...there's that name again.<em> A soft hum of contemplation leaves Toki as she trails by Chad's side as they walk in an open field. Though the small noise is drowned out by Uryu's and Ichigo's bickering. _That name is what worries me the most for some reason. _

"Toki."

Said girl blinks and looks up to glance over to her tall friend, tilting her head to the side in question. "Hm?"

"Is everything okay?"

With a soft, inaudible sigh, Toki smiles up at the gentle giant and nods; tapping her temple slightly. "Of course! I'm just thinking of who this Kukaku might be."

Chad stares at her smiling face a moment longer before looking forward again, deciding to accept her statement. "Yeah, me too."

Small explanations and much more walking later, Toki was beginning to feel boredom slowly crawl inside her. She noticed a pattern on their time here, and it was something that was beginning to become so monochrome. _I know we need most of them, but are all these explanations really necessary?_

"Ah, it looks like we've arrived."

Boredom gone.

Everyone stopped walking as the house came into plain view, Toki's jaw pops open softly as she marvels at the giant arms sticking out from the earth; gaudily holding up a sign. Whatever she thought she was going to see surely was not this. However, that familiar gnawing in her stomach appears once more as her eyes warily take in the place. _Why_ on earth did this thing seem so…recognizable? You'd think a place like this would forever remain a mysterious enigma; although the giant arms still seemed fairly new.

"What kind of person would wanna live in a house like that?!"

"I don't know, but whoever he is, he sure doesn't care about keeping his identity a secret!"

Stifling a laugh Toki brings a hand to her mouth and looks upon the small house with mirth, quickly getting over the confusing churn of emotions. "Something tells me that things will be picking up quite quickly after this."

Chad glances down to her and both share small smiles of amusement, hearing Ichigo and Uryu continue their shocked ramblings. Then with Yoruichi's words, Toki, Chad and Orihime obediently began to descend the small hill toward the house. The petite girl stops though, turning around to see the other two males still standing shell shocked. With a small huff, she treads over and begins to push both of their backs; somehow managing to make them budge.

"Come on you two! You can stare at the house while you walk too," her voice drops teasingly as she now moves forward to drag Ichigo's hand, "because standing with your mouths open like that will attract flies."

"I'd rather attract flies than go into a house like that!" Uryu might as well have whined about it.

"I can't let anyone see me walking into a house like that!" Despite his obvious hesitation, Ichigo allowed Toki to pull him forward by the wrist. He profusely denied the reason being that he actually liked it.

The pajama clad girl only rolls her eyes. "It's not like anyone from school is here to watch you."

With some grumbled responses, the two boys begrudgingly followed along behind Yoruichi. Though Toki finally realizes her hold on Ichigo's wrist and quickly lets it go, bowing her head to cover the red tint on her cheeks. She failed to notice how Ichigo gently rubbed his wrist with his own pink blush spreading across his nose.

"Hold on!"

Toki stops walking as did the rest of the group as soon as their eyes lay upon two massive, identical looking men. A small gasp escapes Orihime as Ichigo easily makes his way to the front of the group, leaving the petite girl to stand behind. Though her gaze stays locked onto the two men, her eyes wary of them as she made sure to obscure her body with Chad's.

It was all unnecessary however, being that as soon as the two body guards caught sight of Yoruichi they profusely apologized and let everyone in. Although while everyone questioned the cat about her connections, Toki felt her heart hammer rapidly in her chest with each step she took down. Her body was betraying her confusion; reacting to a setting she could not remember for the life of her, but her heart and stomach seemed to recognize the house. All of the teens were oblivious to her constant flickering eyes and trembling hands as they wrung each other, but not Yoruichi.

To say that the feline was completely nonchalant would be a lie. Yoruichi felt as if Toki's anxiousness was transferring over to her body; only difference was that the cat knew why the petite girl was a nervous wreck. As the group got to the awaiting doors, they felt their anticipation explode as the door slowly slid open and quickly made their way to see who was inside.

Boobs. Really big boobs.

"Well, it's been a really long time, hasn't it Yoruichi?"

"K-K-Kukaku is a woman?!"

Everyone could practically hear the smug tone in the cat as it turned to face the group. "You all assumed it was a man, but I never said that."

The dark haired woman looks up from the feline before her, only to glance about the group of teens at her door. "Hmm? What's this? You seemed to have brought a bunch of brats along with you."

Could no one hear the sudden shattering in the room? Toki wondered whether or not she was the only one able to hear it; along with how her heart is frantically beating. Her mind and body were at war, a very confusing war that made her want to fall to the floor and scream for it to stop. Black pupils shrunk to the point they almost disappeared into her irises as the pajama clad girl stares at the lounging woman before her; though once again she's being obscured by the males.

That man's face once again flashes into her mind and makes her heart clench and sputter from the raw emotion coursing through her; but _why?_ The sudden relief that this woman, who resembled the man, could give her all the answers nearly drove Toki to push everyone out of her way demanding them. But she stays put, nearly frozen as her small hand slowly reaches out to clutch onto Ichigo's sleeve for support as her arm trembles.

Brown eyes flicker down to the hand grasping his shirt, then follow the arm up to Toki's wide-eyed expression. Concern floods into his body swiftly as Ichigo turns his body slightly to address the girl. "Hey, are you-"

"However, while I trust you completely Yoruichi, I do not trust these kids accompanying you."

Everyone's attention returns to Kukaku as she rises slowly from her seat, tendrils of smoke still lingering in the air around her as her eyes scan the group once more; but her eyes widen a fraction at seeing a splash of silver. Could it really be..? How on earth had she not noticed the girl up until now?

"You-...it's you," the busty woman suddenly proclaims, though her eyes suddenly narrow into slits. "What are you doing back here, Toki?"

Heads quickly turn to stare at the petite girl getting addressed in shock and curiosity. While Toki could only stare like a deer caught in headlights with her hand still clutching onto Ichigo's sleeve like a lifeline. She knew it! Her suspicions of her memories deriving from this place, Soul Society, were only just confirmed; it all made sense. Sort of.

As the initial shock wore off, Ichigo glared back at the woman. "Wait, how the hell do you know Toki?"

Kukaku's eyes glance over to Ichigo as a brow lifts over her bangs, while her arms cross under her bust and her eyes bore right back into his. "I don't have to answer to a brat like you. How I know her is my own business," her coal eyes swiftly move back to Toki, softening ever so slightly. "And hers."

Toki can only swallow down the lump in her throat as she slowly lets go of Ichigo's sleeve and calms down her frazzled nerves. The look in Kukaku's eyes clearly voiced out that this conversation was better left for another time and a more private setting. Some small part of her also agreed, despite the overwhelming confusion.

"Hey, you can't just-!"

"Moving along," the black haired female easily interrupts Ichigo and smirks when he began to fume. "I've decided to send an overseer with you; just to keep an eye on them for me."

Gritting his teeth, Ichigo pushes his irritation down as he feels the girl next to him pat his arm in gentle reassurance. He'd talk with her about this later, he decided. "Overseer?"

Toki all, but lost her mind as soon as Ichigo's hand easily slid over to hold hers; squeezing it encouragingly. Her wide olive yellow eyes speedily flicker over to his face to see any sort of emotion, but sadly it was locked onto his normal scowl. The life giving organ inside of her pumps erratically as her stomach flips and seems to house a flurry of butterflies. The silver headed female vehemently pushes down the darker thoughts of him simply being a friend, and lets her mind wander to her dream land where bad-boy Ichigo pins her to a wall confessing to her.

A girl can only hope, ne?

Though her fantasies come to an abrupt halt as soon as Ichigo's hand tugs away from hers to point and yell at Ganju; who for whatever reason was on the other side of the doors. Things quickly pick up after their shock wears off, leaving everyone in the room to stare as they continued their brawl from last night. Although Toki feels pity settle in as she watches the two boys accidently break Kukaku's pipe; sending the once calm female to deliver her own vengeful blows.

With a sigh Toki runs a hand through her choppy locks and simply stares at the scene unfolding before her. They had a long road ahead of them from this point on and she felt in her gut that it was going to be far from an easy one.

* * *

><p>As the sun began to set hours later, Kukaku quietly pours sake into two cups while the group continued their training down below. With a sigh she picks up her cups and stares down into the liquid with melancholy in her eyes. Seeing Toki after all these years only brought back unwanted memories.<p>

"I'm sorry brother, I've decided to help out that soul reaper who came to me…and also Toki has returned," the woman pauses as she sips the drink slightly before letting out another sigh. "Watching her return and having no recollection of the soul reaper who killed you that night…I'm not sure what to think of it."

Closing her eyes briefly, Kukaku thinks back to the day that her brother was killed by one of his own; along with losing Toki. With a shake of her head she opens her eyes and frowns softly over to the empty spot before her, staring at the untouched cup. Her eyes narrow slowly as she feels a certain flurry of power come from down below; however, it was weak from the last time she remembered. With a quiver it suddenly retreats to the point it completely disappears; were it not for the woman specifically concentrating on it, it would seem as if Toki died.

"If you were still alive and saw me not helping them, you'd be the first to scold me," a small, sad smirk plays on Kukaku's features as she takes another sip from the cup. "You, who loved all soul reapers…and also died as one," she pauses again, as if listening to some unspoken question.

"She's changed...back to how she was when you first brought her here."

* * *

><p>"Hey guys listen up, why don't we take a break? Dinner's ready. I bet you guys are starving!"<p>

At Ganju's sudden inquiry, multiple heads turn to him; although Toki's eyes were quick to glance back to a panting Ichigo. They had all taken their turns at trying out the spiritual pressure canon ball Kukaku gave them and succeeded; although Chad's had been unstable and Toki's had come out a bit weak. Ichigo was still the only one who couldn't seem to concentrate his spirit energy.

"Okay, but what about-," Uryu began only to get interrupted as Ichigo spoke up from his crouch.

"Never mind about me, go on ahead and eat," the male pauses to catch his breath before continuing, "I'll join you guys when I'm done."

Without really looking too concerned, Uryu replies back. "Alright, if you're sure, then I guess we will."

Chad only grunts before walking over to the dining area, leaving the only females to look over at Ichigo in worry. The raven headed teen turns back once seeing the two not moving, "Come on Orihime and Toki, let's go eat."

"Oh Uryu, I'm not hungry at all yet," the busty teen chirps with false nonchalance, "So I'll just hang out here for a while!"

**_Growl._**

Blank stares settle on Orihime's growling stomach as she pats it nervously and laughs sheepishly, claiming that she still needed more practice. Though before another word could be said by her, Ichigo pipes up telling them it was okay for her to go on without him. With some hesitance, the busty female joins the others as the doors slide closed; although not even a few minutes pass before the doors open once more.

Ganju looks up in surprise as Toki stands in front of the wood with her hands behind her back, and a serious look upon her face. Just as he was going to question her, they both turn to stare at Ichigo as his grunts and groans fill the large room as he tries once more to gather his spiritual pressure. Olive yellow eyes soften as she watches him stop again to catch his breath, though she glances down at Ganju with a small smile as she motions her head to the doors.

"You go on and eat," she calls out in a soft tone meant for only him to hear, "I'll try and help Ichigo."

Ganju opens his mouth to protest, but relents at her determined gaze and sighs as he stands up silently. Before exiting the room he watches her small frame wordlessly as she made her way toward the young soul reaper, feeling a tiny amount of bitterness at her obvious affection for the orange head. It only felt like yesterday that his older brother had introduced all of them to the petite female and she had been giving _Kaien_ that affectionate stare. Ganju would be a liar if he said that watching her with Ichigo didn't leave a bad taste in his mouth.

But with Kukaku's earlier words to him about Toki, he turns and walks out the doors, leaving the two of them alone.

"You're trying too hard."

A grunt of surprise escapes Ichigo as he quickly turns his head to look over at Toki, who was smiling down at him. "Toki…why didn't you go eat with the others?"

The girl's smile falters for a few seconds, but he caught it. "I'm not hungry."

Brown eyes scrutinize the young female and slowly begin to soften at seeing the emotions behind her eyes; how could he have not seen it before? The answer came to him quickly as he stands up slowly and lets out a sigh. He felt like a big, inconsiderate idiot for not seeing how all this must have been affecting his silver headed friend; and she hid it so well too. With Rukia's upcoming execution, Ichigo failed to realize how Toki must be feeling finding out that she might have come from Soul Society.

Then suddenly, it really did hit him hard at his own ignorance of the entire situation. Kukaku had demanded to know why the girl came back before, so that only meant she must have lived here before ever going to Karakura. That only meant that Toki wasn't alive.

_She's...dead._

"Ichigo?"

Ichigo once again snaps his head over in said girl's direction, only this time his eyes were slightly wide at his own revelation. "Toki…about what Kukaku said –"

"You're trying too hard," she suddenly interjects firmly, though her smile stays present on her lips. "You need to relax and stop thinking about it; otherwise, you'll never succeed."

The young soul reaper gazes at the girl with apprehension as she continues to smile as if nothing was wrong, as if he didn't just figure out how her world was slowly falling apart at the seams. As if she wasn't screaming inside her own mind and tearing it open hoping to find any of her memories. As if she wasn't questioning her own existence ever since coming with them on this mission.

But he understood her silent plea all the same.

"Okay, so then how in the hell am I supposed to do this crap?"

A small giggle escapes her as she gingerly takes the crystal ball from him into her small hands and closes her eyes. Her expression smooth's over as she hums softly and a silver, transparent sphere began to form around her; though it came out much stronger than it had previously with the others.

"The reason why you can't get it is because you're trying too hard to access it, so in turn the power retreats from you," she suddenly responds as her eyes open to glance at him and the sphere melts away. "So you need to stop forcing it and simply _feel _it."

Ichigo stares at the small female with a blank expression before replying sarcastically. "Okay guru, mind explaining it in words I can actually understand?"

Toki gives him a pointed look, but smirks softly nonetheless as she tosses the ball back to him. "For example, let's say that you try to force a bird to eat out of your hand, it'll just scare the bird away the more you try. So you need to then calm down, be patient and let it come to you."

"Okay...I think I get what you mean," he responds slowly as he stares down at the sphere in his hands and closes his eyes, trying his best to let his body relax.

"If it helps," Toki continues gently as she takes two steps back to allow him some room, "Imagine a dark door in a white room and as you walk toward this door, the air around you starts to feel heavy."

As the female began to talk again, Ichigo pictured everything she described in detail; letting her words paint images in his mind. "Imagine yourself opening the door and walking into that unknown room."

Toki smiles brightly as she watches Ichigo's spirit energy begin to materialize and expand into the familiar sphere; though her smile drops and a pained gasp escapes her as his power exploded tremendously. Her body is roughly thrown back as the sphere grew triple in size and lands painfully on her side, gasping to regain her knocked out breath. It was then that Kukaku suddenly ran in and began screaming.

"You stupid idiot! Concentrate your spirit energy!"

Ichigo's eyes widen a fraction as the sphere and his power suddenly condenses into a regular sized ball. By then, his silver headed female companion stands up slowly and rubs at her sore side as she lets out a sigh of relief. Being knocked around by Ichigo's spiritual energy was not something she wanted to experience again.

"I did it!" With a smirk Ichigo looks over to Toki, then over to Orihime who began to cheer him on; although his sphere suddenly began to falter.

"You ignorant dumbass! You gotta stay focused!"

"Eh?" With a blank look on his face Ichigo stares at Kukaku while the ball began to break and with one final crack the sphere, along with Ichigo, exploded. All that could be heard was his screams as his slightly smoking body is left twitching on the floor.

Toki smiles over at him as Kukaku began to beat him and Ganju for the mess they made; though she did feel bad for the latter since it was technically her fault it happened since she had helped Ichigo. But that guilt wasn't big enough for her to take the beating instead.

Once she was done with both males, Kukaku straightens out and glances over to Toki with a serious expression. "Hey Toki, how about we step outside for a moment?"

All eyes look over to the petite female, including the beaten boys, and watch as her smiles quickly fades. Her nails dig into her palm for a moment before she forces them to relax and gives a nod to the woman, her lips forming into a small frown. "Okay."

Trying her best to ignore Ichigo's beseeching eyes, Toki follows the raven haired woman out the door and lets the doors close silently behind her. Her body leans against the wood for a moment as her eyes trail over to Kukaku who kept walking up the stairs that lead outside. She knew that once she went out there a lot of truths would be shone in the light and there would be no turning back for her, she would have to accept everything; even the fact that her past may not be as clean as she hoped. But isn't this what she always wanted? To get the answers to her dreams and visions of her past?

Suddenly she wasn't so sure anymore.


	9. Not Your Everyday Birthday

**Hey everybody! I know its been so long since I updated and I'm terribly sorry! Life of adulthood is not kind and its no excuse, but I have not given up on this story. I'm a huge procrastinator, so this isn't new to anybody whose been following the story since the beginning. But anyhoo, since I'm so horrible, this is just a filler since its officially Ichigo's birthday! *Throws confetti* **

**I'll try to finish the next chapter as soon as I can, possibly try to before the end of this year...hehe.. (Reviews much appreciated! 3)  
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><p>"Ohayo everyone!"<p>

Toki's greeting goes unanswered as she enters into the Kurosaki domain, though upon witnessing the usual rambunctious bunch the petite girl stands dumbstruck. There beyond the entrance she saw Isshin chasing Ichigo around with a colorful pointy hat in his hands; apparently coaxing him to wear it. Yuzu was also in the chase; however, she had a pretty blue wrapped box in her hands as she cried out for her big brother to accept the gift.

Karin simply sat at the dining table nonchalantly eating her cereal; normalcy at its finest. But what got Toki to actually be shocked was for one simple fact alone.

"Today is Ichigo's birthday?!"

"Yeah, didn't he tell you?"

The silver head turns to look over to Karin, who continued with her breakfast, though occasionally glancing up at her. Toki only shakes her head and pouts, "No, he didn't."

"Not a surprise then," inquires the raven head, "Ichigo isn't into all the attention of birthdays."

The young girl looks on as Ichigo managed a kick to Isshin's face, successfully halting his chase. Yuzu had resorted to the classic puppy dog eyes to convince the carrot top to accept the gift.

"Alright fine! I'll take the damn gift," Ichigo grumbles, though Toki could hear the small thank you mumbled to his kid sister afterward. Yuzu looked as if he had given her the world.

"Happy birthday Ichigo!"

The young male jumps startled, barely realizing that there was a visitor in his home; he berates himself for forgetting about Toki. They began the ritual of walking to and from school together since her house was just a short distance away.

"Uh...thanks," is his only embarrassed response as he rubs the back of his neck, glancing down at the small girl before him. She's only a couple inches taller than Rukia really. "Have you been here long?"

She shakes her head, making her short tresses sway about. "Nope, just about maybe five minutes, but I did catch how it's your birthday." A soft frown flits across her lips as she crosses her arms under her chest and gives him a pointed look. "Which you failed to ever mention to me."

"Ah, well I don't like people knowing when it is. It's too much of a hassle with all the attention," the ever present scowl crosses his surely maturing features as he bent to put on his shoes.

"But it's your birthday! A celebration is in store for your clear maturing youth my son!" A devious grin makes way onto Isshin's face as he nudges Toki's arm gently, eyes glancing to Ichigo meaningfully. "It might even be the year you truly turn into a man!"

The girl who was obviously being expected to perform such a duty, failed to grasp a hold of what the older man beside her meant. Toki simply looks between father and son in utter confusion; while Ichigo looked as if he might turn into a cherry. With quick movements, the carrot top kicks his father away and grabs a hold of the silver haired girl's wrist; dragging her out the door as he bellows out.

"Stop being such a perverted creep, you old man! We're going to school now!"

As they ran ahead, Toki finally realizes what it was that Isshin meant and feels her face burn with intensity; knowing it resembled Ichigo's. With her thoughts going rampant, she barely heard Isshin yell out to them in the distance.

"Don't be ashamed of your growth! Embrace it so that you can make me some grandchildren!"

"G-Grandchildren?" Comes her squeaked reply as she can practically feel her ears let out steam. How could his father talk about it so coolly?!

Ichigo nearly, if not completely, forgot about the small girl he was pulling along as some passerby's stopped to stare at his father in bewilderment. Ever since Toki was introduced to his family, Isshin Kurosaki had been persistent in saying that they were simply not just friends. The very thought was absurd! The little olive yellow eyed girl is solely just a friend; nothing more and nothing less.

Unfortunately so.

_Unfortunately?! Where the hell did that even come from!_ The young male finally ceased his sprinting as he tries to control his puzzled thoughts; all the while mentally cursing his old man for bringing such thoughts to begin with.

"I-Ichigo? Are you alright?"

Suddenly, his thoughts are brought back down to earth as he glances down to his side in surprise; he completely forgot that he was with Toki. Still holding onto her hand no less. With an embarrassed grumble, the teen boy lets go of her hand and shyly rubs at his nose. "Ahh...yeah, just a little miffed at my old man for that last comment."

The petite girl clears her throat as she tries to control her still burning blush and redirects the conversation back to the original topic. She'd be damned if she let Ichigo slide about the whole birthday thing.

"So about your birthday..," she starts off slowly.

"What about it?" Is his only grumbled response.

"We should celebrate it with the others by throwing you a party after school! It'll be so much fun!"

"No way," he intercepts quickly as he hikes up his school bag over his shoulder, one hand deep into his pocket as his scowl deepens. "I'd rather just go about my day like always."

With a small whine Toki grabs hold of his arm that has his hand in his pocket, shaking it gently with each word spilling from her mouth. "Aw come on Ichigo! It's your birthday; we can't just pretend it's a regular day!"

"It _is_ a regular day."

"No it's not!"

"I don't want a damn party!"

"But it'll be fun! We'll have music, snacks-"

"_No." _

Toki stomps her foot gently onto the ground as she lets go of his arm and crosses her own, glaring up at the tall teen by her. Rarely did she ever raise her voice at Ichigo, but this time she refused to back down. She WAS going to throw him a party; whether he conceded about it or not. Although Ichigo continued on his way, walking a bit faster as he finally saw the school up ahead. One glance is given to the suspiciously quiet girl though as he watches her face slowly let up the frown she had.

_This sudden quiet is suspicious, _Ichigo ponders as he watches her from the corner of his eye. _What is she thinking about?_

Before he could open his mouth to question it, the bell rang, signaling the start of the school day. The loud screeching broke Toki's thoughts and both teens quickly began to run over to their class. It'd do no good to be late to class, especially with the type of teacher Ms. Ochi is.

* * *

><p>Come lunch time, Toki had managed to get a secret meeting going with everyone, excluding the carrot top birthday boy. How she managed to do this without looking suspicious? Why she simply made Ichigo get into trouble and caused him to stay in class cleaning the black board erasers grumpily.<p>

"I feel bad for Ichigo," mumbles Orihime as she proceeds to eat her usual odd lunch. Their group of the girls and guys met at the usual spot up on the roof.

"You know he's going to be pissed at you for doing that," Tatsuki remarks with an amused smirk on her face as she took a bite out of her sandwich.

Toki simply waves her hand dismissively as she picks up a panda face shaped onigiri she had made and bites into it, chewing it gently before replying. "He'll get over it; what's more important is our plan to make Ichigo a surprise party after school!"

"Didn't Ichigo say he didn't want one?" Chad comments in his usual calm and deep tone.

"He probably didn't mean it! I bet he secretly wants us to throw him a party!" Keigo chirps enthusiastically by his place next to Mizuiro.

"Even so, how are we going to do this without him noticing? I mean Ichigo is an idiot, but he'll notice," mutters Mizuiro as he cups his chin and glances up at the sky in thought.

The silver head sweatdrops at his remark and sighs as she stares down at her bento, her slender fingers gently drumming the side of the container. "We need to distract him long enough after school to get the supplies and get his family to let us use their home."

"Knowing Ichigo's dad, he'll let us no questions asked," snorts Tatsuki as she took a sip of her juice.

"Oh!" Orihime suddenly exclaims as she hits her fist onto her palm with a determined expression on her face. "We can have ninjas kidnap him."

The entire group stays silent as each person stared at Orihime with similar faces of confusion and bewilderment at her ludicrous idea. Then again, such a random train of thought for Orihime was not anything new.

Tatsuki gently pats Orihime's head with a sweatdrop as she replies, "I think that will be a little too hard to do."

The busty teen lets out a sad "aww" as Toki glances over to Uryu, noting how he hadn't said a single word since arriving at the roof. "What about you Uryu? Got any ideas?"

Uryu chews on his white rice before swallowing and opening his once closed eyes to glance over at the petite girl beside him. He had been thinking of one thing to keep the scowling orange head busy, but seeing as their normal, non-powered friends were here, he refrained from voicing it. After all, the plan he had for this wasn't precisely…ordinary. In fact, he knew that if he said it everyone would object, seeing as it wasn't the most practical idea; however, he wanted to have his fun too.

"I do," he replies coolly as he pushes up his glasses by the bridge of his nose with his index finger.

Toki and the others wait for the bespectacled boy to finish his sentence, only to have their eyebrows twitch in irritation when he said no more; and continued to eat.

"Well, spit it out already!" Keigo cries out impatiently.

The raven haired male glares over at the obnoxious brunette for a brief moment before letting out an exhale of breath to show his annoyance. "I'd rather not, but just know that I'll be able to distract him long enough for you guys to gather everything. So don't worry."

Toki raises an eyebrow in question at his hidden motives, but shakes her head after a few seconds and sighs. "Alright, we'll trust you to make sure he doesn't come home early. I'll come with you since it'll be too suspicious for me to leave after school without him."

Uryu wanted to protest to her sticking around, but chose to stay silent as voicing out his objection would raise more doubt in the small girl. Besides, he was confident enough in his abilities to keep her out of harm's way.

"The rest of you," she continues as she finished eating another rice ball, "you'll have to gather the supplies and quickly decorate his house before Uryu and I get there with Ichigo."

"Hai!" Came everybody's determined and enthusiastic reply; Keigo, Mizuiro and Orihime even saluting like obedient soldiers.

The silver headed girl grins in excitement as she claps her hands, "Then it's settled!"

"What's settled?"

Toki tenses at the familiar grumpy voice and surely enough, when she turns she's faced with an angry looking Ichigo. Everybody scoots away from the girl and watches on as she laughs nervously; no way were they going to be targeted.

"Ah ha, n-nothing important! J-Just...school stuff," she prattles on as she waves her hands in front of her dismissively.

Brown eyes narrow in suspicion at her rushed answer, but Ichigo swiftly brushes it off and quickly grabs her in a firm head lock. It was clear that he was still angry at her for deliberately getting him into trouble with their sensei; she didn't even bother to look apologetic when she had.

"Itai, itai! Ichigo that hurts!" She whines and flails in his arms as he began to give her a noogie.

"This is what you get for getting me into trouble! Do you know how hard it is to clean those damn erasers?!"

"Itai! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please stop!"

Tatsuki and the others look on with pity in their eyes for the poor girl, though they weren't sympathetic enough to save her either. After all, the olive-yellow eyed female _could_ have tried harder to make it seem like she hadn't meant to get him into trouble. Throwing a paper ball at the back of Ochi-sensei's head and then proceeding to hand a shocked Ichigo another paper ball into his hand wasn't quite making it subtle.

"He'll get over it, huh," the martial artist says under her breath as she lets out a soft chuckle and watches the two of them with a knowing smile.

* * *

><p>Ichigo lets out a sigh of relief as classes finally ended for the day, and despite being wary of how fast the majority of his friends dismissed themselves, the carrot top brushed it off. He had honestly better things to contemplate; his group of friends never acted normally. He shifts his brown eyes down to the petite female at his side and doesn't bother to hide his scrutinizing. It only made the silver head sweat bullets internally, but she kept a strong nonchalant expression on her face in spite of the nerves she felt from wondering where Uryu was. He had reassured her prior to the last bell that he had a full proof plan to keep the soul reaper occupied.<p>

"Everything alright Toki?"

Said female jumps startled and looks up at Ichigo's quirked brow, seeing how in his eyes were suspicion. "Y-Yes! Everything is okay, why do you ask?"

Brown eyes narrow at the choppy response and her sheepish grin. "You seem...on edge. Anything you're trying to hide?"

"N-No! No, of course not! Just I- er," she stutters out as her olive yellow eyes flicker about the sidewalk, wondering where the hell Uryu went. He better have not abandoned her!

"Ichigo."

At the sudden new voice, both Ichigo and Toki turn in surprise at seeing their bespectacled friend standing a few feet away. At his appearance, the silver head lets out an inaudible breath of relief and lets her body relax. For a few moments there she had honestly thought that he had abandoned her and left her to find her own ways to distract Ichigo.

A sudden image of her pinning Ichigo to a wall of an alley and pressing her body flush against his crosses her mind, making her face go ablaze. _I blame Mr. Kurosaki's earlier statements! This is nuts, I can't think of that!_

Both boys ignore Toki's inner struggles of her hormones as Ichigo lets a confused expression come onto his face. "Uryu? What are you doing here?"

"I've decided that it was time for us to have another challenge of strength," he replies as he uses his fingers to push up his glasses, making them glint and hide his eyes.

Ichigo's face seems even more lost at this point as he cocks his head puzzled. "Another challenge of strength?"

"Yes, I presume you recall this," Uryu proceeds to take a small pill out of his pocket, a very familiar pill, though before it used to be bigger.

"Hey, that looks like...," sudden realization flashes in Ichigo's brown eyes, along with annoyance and astonishment. "You're not being serious! Don't you remember what the hell happened last time?!"

"Of course I do," scoffs the quincy as he looks over to the pill in-between his index finger and thumb. "Though as you can see, this one is much smaller compared to the last hollow bait I used."

Finally, Toki looks up to see what exactly they were talking of and quirks an eyebrow in curiosity at the small pill held in Uryu's hand. "What does that pill do?"

Uryu glances over to Toki and responds in a matter-of-fact tone, "Hollow bait lures hollows in."

"Oh," she mumbles, but then her eyes widen as she figures out exactly what Uryu's "distraction" was. "Oh! You're not being serious are you?! This is so stupid!"

The raven haired male feels his brow twitch in irritation and before anymore objections could be said, he easily crushes the pill into dust. "Toki I think it's best if you stay close by me, I don't trust Ichigo to keep you from harm."

Ichigo splutters in anger before reaching over to wrap an arm around Toki's waist and pulling her into his body. "Like hell she'll go with you! You're the lunatic who put everyone in danger again!"

The petite female feels her cheeks burn hot once more as she is forced to rest her cheek against his side, but just as she was going to enjoy the moment, she freezes in fear as she sees a hollow slinking over to Uryu. "Uryu! Behind you!"

The quincy didn't even allow her to finish her sentence when he had already activated his bow and shot a blue arrow over to the hollow, hearing it screech as he completely vanished. "Fine, if you feel you can protect her better, then that's fine by me. But you better hurry before those hollows hurt someone." With that, Uryu quickly runs into the alley beside them to climb onto the fire escape to get to a better view point.

"I'm gonna kill that idiot!" Ichigo fumes as he reaches into his pocket to retrieve a small green ball and without hesitation, swallows it. Almost instantly, Toki witnesses Ichigo's soul reaper form pop out of his body and glances over to the mod soul now possessing his body.

"Kon, I want you to stay by Toki and protect her, got it?"

Kon, who was now in Ichigo's body, salutes to him and brings the short female closer to his body with a grin. "Got it! You can count on me!"

"Hey, wait! Ichigo I can help, I don't need – "

Giving his body a quick wary and warning glance, Ichigo jumps onto the air and on a roof easily as he runs in the direction of where he senses a hollow; not bothering to hear Toki's objection. In turn, it only made the silver haired girl narrow her eyes in annoyance and let out an exasperated huff. Though she glances warily up at Kon who only grins down at her, as he lets Ichigo's hand travel down her hip and causing Toki to quickly pinch said hand harshly.

"Ow! Toki-chan you're hurting me!"

"Listen here Kon, I tolerate a lot of your antics, but today I am no mood for them understood? Now come on, we need to help them out," she comments dryly as she gets out of his hold and begins to walk away.

"Hey wait! Ichigo told me to protect you and you walking straight into the hollows isn't helping!"

"Hurry up or I'm leaving you," she calls over her shoulder as she begins to sprint over in the direction she heard a hollow screech, which happened to be in the park. Figures.

Without protesting, Kon quickly runs over to catch up to her and complains about how Ichigo was going to kill him for not protecting Toki like he promised. Toki said nothing as she lets out a sigh and thinks about how this day was not turning out how she wanted it. She just wanted to make Ichigo's birthday special and here she is running towards one of many hollows infiltrating Karakura. Fan-freaking-tastic.

* * *

><p>Nearly two and half hours later, Toki is sprawled out on the grass of the park as her body was covered in scratches and bruises, along with her sporting a nasty gash on her shoulder. Kon, who was still in Ichigo's body, isn't too far off as he closes his eyes and wonders just how badly Ichigo will beat him when he sees how his body is. Not to mention that he nearly got Toki killed for not watching her carefully; he let his eyes stray from her for a few minutes and he finds her narrowly missing a claw that was aimed to penetrate her stomach. The good thing was that it seemed all the hollows were taken care of and Toki couldn't feel anyone too heavily injured.<p>

With a wince of pain she manages to sit up and glance down at the wound on her shoulder, grateful that despite exhausting her still new powers, she had managed to stop the bleeding. Hopefully with a few more minutes of resting she could fully heal herself and Ichigo's body, before said owner found them. But she doubted that very heavily, she was never that lucky.

"Toki! Are you alright?"

_Speak of the devil, _she winces as she lets out a breath and stands up, despite the pain. "I'm perfectly okay!" Came her lie of reassurance as she lets a tired smile come to her lips.

The carrot top stops before her and instantly stares at her torn and bloodied shoulder, as his brown eyes widen at the blood that soaked through her white school uniform. "Bullshit! Kon didn't I tell you to look after her?!"

"I-I was! But she's the one who ran away to try and kill the hollows!"

Brown eyes quickly flicker and narrow over at Toki as she sheepishly laughs and runs a hand through her hair. "I'm fine, honestly! I got a little scratch, but I'll be fine," at this she cups her wounded shoulder and closes her eyes, feeling her power shutter before flowing through her hand to properly heal the wound.

Ichigo watches on in awe, still not used to the silver head's powers, and wonders exactly what their extent might be. It never ceased to amaze him as he watches not only her shoulder knit itself together, but seeing the blood and tears on her shirt somehow disappear. Kisuke had a vague answer to them and explained that it was similar to reversing things from before they happened. A sort of time control, but even then no one knew for sure.

"There! Good as new!" She smiles cheekily over at him as she rests her hands on her hips.

The soul reaper only stares at her, before letting out a sigh and smiles gently over at her. He walks over and pats her head, before slipping back into his body and spitting out the green ball that is Kon. Though as soon as he comes to, he groans in pain at the injuries the mod soul had inflicted on his body.

"Damnit it Kon!" He yells in agitation as he shakes the little pill.

Toki lets out a small giggle as she kneels before him and lifts her hands to in case him in a silver, transparent barrier. Ichigo looks up at the barrier in wonder as he felt his body slowly being healed and restored. He then glances over at her as the barrier soon vanishes and stands up, resting his right hand on his left shoulder as he flexes the limb experimentally.

"Thanks, I feel so much better," he remarks in appreciation as he looks over to Toki, who stood up and dusted her skirt.

"You're welcome," she replies, though she looks about the park as if searching for someone. "Hey, what happened to Uryu?"

Ichigo clicks his tongue in annoyance as he runs a hand through his hair roughly, closing his eyes as his brow twitches. "No clue, after I killed the rest of the hollows I couldn't find him. So I came looking for you hoping he'd be here."

The small girl shakes her head and wonders if their friend made it back to Ichigo's house safe and sound. She hoped so, along with hoping that everyone had set up and was waiting for their return. She was sure that two and a half hours was enough to get everything together.

"Well, how about we forget about this incident and go to your house? I'm sure Yuzu prepped a delicious dinner for you!"

Ichigo sweat drops at her sudden cheery mood and ignores the fact that she invited herself to dinner; it wasn't as if he was annoyed by it. If anything he enjoyed the times she spent in his home with his crazy family. "Yeah, sounds like a good idea."

The pair quickly sets out to Kurosaki Clinic after locating both their school bags they had dropped in order to ward off the hollows. Once the small clinic comes into view, Toki glances up at Ichigo nervously and hopes that everything will turn out alright. Hopefully the now 16 year old wouldn't throw a fit. With small steps, the silver head stays behind him and watches on with her heart beating quickly in her chest as he began to open the door to his home.

"SURPRISE!"

"What the hell!"

Ichigo stops and stares dumbfounded at the streamers decorating his home, along with balloons tied in various furniture to stop them from floating up. All his friends and family stood before him with party hats and whistles, with big cheery smiles on their faces.

"Happy birthday Ichigo," Toki smiles happily up at him as he glances down at her in shock and before he could question it, she continues. "I got you in trouble so that we could plan this during lunch! I knew you said you didn't want a party, but I didn't want your birthday to pass without celebrating it. So while Uryu uh...distracted you, everyone else came here to set up," with hopeful eyes she looks up at him and quietly adds, "I hope you're not mad..."

The carrot top glances about the faces of each person in the room, before landing back on his petite friend beside him, and with a sigh he lets a small smile come on his lips. "I'm not, don't worry," he replies and softly puts a hand on her head as his eyes soften. "Thanks."

"Come on Ichigo! We got you a cake too!"

Toki watches on as Yuzu drags her big brother inside to talk with the rest of them and with a blush on her cheeks, she closes the door behind her and sets her school bag on the couch. A soft smile comes to her lips as she watches as Ichigo punches an over excited Keigo and sits down, glancing down at her school bag. She opens it and looks inside, staring at the simply woven white and orange bracelet. With gentle movements, she takes it out and turns it slightly to look at it; his name was woven in orange, while the rest was an off white. She had made the simple trinket a few days prior to today, not knowing that his birthday was coming up, but it made for a good present in the end.

"Come on Toki, we're going to cut the cake!" She hears Orihime call out to her.

"Coming," she responds as she looks at the bracelet once more, before setting it inside her bag once again and standing up to join her friends. She'd give it to him when everything quieted down, she decided. For now, she'd simply enjoy watching Ichigo blush as everyone chanted happy birthday to him.


End file.
